Never Saw You Coming
by Halpert-fan
Summary: Ten years after the end of the Host Club, Haruhi found her life missing only one thing...and it would take hours waiting in the park down the street to find them again.
1. Chapter 1

**Note from the Author: **Hello everyone! I don't know how well this is going to turn out, but I hope it'll be all right...The idea of seeing the host club after they've left the school world forever came into my head at 11:00 one night, and my ideas at night never turn out as good as I hope them to be. But I wrote this anyway, and here it is. By the way, I tried changing their personalities ever so slightly (though you only see two of the hosts in this chapter), but not too much...they're still the same people, but they _have _grown, so...I hope you can forgive the slight changes. If not, tell me so and I'll switch back and see if I can do it!

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

"Thank you so much, Fujioka-san! I don't know how I'll ever repay you!"

"Please don't worry about it, Mr. Imawato," Haruhi said with a bright smile, "It was inevitable you were going to win the case." She wanted to leave the courtroom and get home as quickly as possible, but her client had her hand in a firm grip.

"I don't know what I would have done if I had gone to jail! Thank you!"

"You're very welcome," Haruhi pressed, "Now, if you'll excuse me…" Her voice trailed off and the man realized he was gripping her hand. He quickly let go, his cheeks turning a little pink.

"S-sorry about that," he laughed.

"Oh, it's all right," Haruhi assured, smiling a little sweeter. _I bet he's a pervert, _she thought maliciously, _Sick bastard…_

She gathered up all her papers and folders of evidence, then left the court feeling proud of herself for defending an innocent man, though perverted as he was (or as perverted as Haruhi thought he was).

She hoped her mother would be proud of her.

After years and years of intense schooling, Haruhi had finally made it as a lawyer. It had taken hours of studying and determination, but she did it. Just for that, her mom should have been very proud. Her dad had repeatedly congratulated her upon her graduation from law school for almost a year, and was still doing so to this day. Maybe that was enough for two parents.

_Oh….my feet are killing me…_her thoughts complained when she reached her home a few convenient blocks away from the courthouse. Fiddling through her bag, she found her keys and opened the door to her own little sanctuary. She sighed in relief when she was at last able to kick off the two inch heeled shoes that had been torturing her poor feet.

"I'm home!" she called out. The only response came from a large golden retriever which barked loudly over and over while running to the door.

"Hey there, Antoinette," Haruhi greeted her loving dog, "I missed you too." Antoinette had been Haruhi's only company since she had left the dorms in college. She had felt so alone in the first week on her own, so she went to buy a dog. For some reason, Antoinette seemed to be the perfect name. She just couldn't remember why…

"Are you hungry?" Haruhi asked the large dog trailing her footsteps, "After we eat, we should probably do some cleaning, huh?" Antoinette barked, more out of the recognition of coming food than out of agreement with Haruhi's suggestion. As Haruhi walked to Antoinette, bowl of food in hand, something caught her foot. She felt the bowl fly from her hands, scattering dog food all over the room (which Antoinette quickly got to finding and eating), as she fell to the floor face first.

"Ouch…" she whined quietly, pushing herself up onto her knees. Her entire face was throbbing and her foot hurt even worse. Haruhi looked behind her angrily to see what caused her fall. It was a box.

Haruhi pulled the box closer to her, wondering why she had put it in the middle of the floor (or rather close to the middle). Out of simple curiosity, she opened the folded cardboard flaps and paused. Inside were more boxes. _Great_, she thought, yet continued on her quest to see the _real _contents of the evil box. She removed one of the smaller, more brightly colored boxes on top and opened it, happy to see there wasn't another box. Instead, there were pictures, small notebooks, and various trinkets Haruhi had trouble remembering why she kept. She grabbed a stack of no more than fifteen or twenty pictures and began to scan. A smile instantly broke out on her face.

Her fondest memories came rushing back to her as she scanned the through the pictures of a music room filled with the biggest idiots she had ever known- the host club.

Nearly half of the pictures were of someone angrily yelling at whoever was holding the camera, the other half was just blurry, leading Haruhi to assume their had been a fight over who got to use the camera. The moment started coming back to her, as faint as it was. It was Hunny and Mori's last day at school. Hunny had been the one who brought the camera, but it had been instantly stolen by the twins, claiming they knew how to take a picture better than anyone in the school. Tamaki had decided to challenge that, and a battle had erupted. Sure enough, in most of the pictures that weren't blurry, you could see poor Hunny in the background, near tears, begging for the camera.

Haruhi almost laughed, but choked. The tears began to brim around her deep brown eyes.

Antoinette put a furry paw on Haruhi's leg and whined. Instantly, she snapped her eyes away from the pictures and wiped her eyes. The pictures were tossed back on top of everything else in the box they had come from.

"Sorry, Antoinette," Haruhi apologized with a weak smile, "I think I just need a walk…" The large dog barked and ran to the door, grabbing her leash in her mouth. Haruhi felt herself recovering from her brief moment of reminiscence as she stood up to go get changed in more "appropriate" park clothing.

Yes, Haruhi's hair may have grown past her shoulders, but by no means had she changed her preference for clothes. Maybe her years as a host had something to do with it, but perhaps it was simply her nonchalance for the male/female stereotypes that pushed her to wear whatever she found comfortable rather than what made her look "best." While the other "fashionable" women in the park wore their well-fitted clothing and various skanky outfits, Haruhi was wearing what she would probably wear to bed that night. Her favorite, most comfortable pair of jeans and a soft, warm red sweatshirt she had admired since her junior year in college. Haruhi felt as though she were walking through the raining sakura petals with a bed wrapped around her.

Though rather comfortable, and having to pull relatively hard on Antoinette's leash to keep her from running off (which is exactly what the dog wanted to do), Haruhi was lost in her thoughts. The pictures kept coming back to her mind. And with them came more memories she had long forgotten. _I wonder what they're doing right now…_she thought. Words Haruhi had forced herself to abandon years ago.

The moment Haruhi sighed, she felt herself almost fall to her face for the second time that day as a tall man, looking ready for some rather important business (in a long brown coat, to boot), came running past her. She whipped around the second she regained her balance.

"I'm so sorry!" Haruhi yelled in apology to the man, though it wasn't her fault at all that he ran into her, at the same time the man turned to yell, "Watch where you're going!"

Both froze

Both stared.

"H-Haruhi?"

"Hikaru?"

Antoinette barked twice and tried to take the opportunity to run off. Haruhi broke from her shock to pull on her dog's leash with two hands and all her strength.

"Antoinette! Stop it!" she ordered. The game of tug-of-war was beginning to tear her arms out when Hikaru laughed and walked around Haruhi to the golden retriever. He kneeled down to pet the dog who instantly found a new friend.

"Antoinette, huh?" he repeated, "Just like milord's." Haruhi made a exaggerated gasp upon remembering where the name had come from, but let her moment of triumph melt away when she saw the worry on Hikaru's face. She wailed, letting go of leash.

"N-no! It's not _his_, I mean, well…you know, I just thought the name fit! We're not…uh, you know! It's not like that! I haven't seen him in years!" she had to stop there. Not only did she just say what she really wish she hadn't said, but Hikaru was laughing.

"It's okay, I didn't think anything like that," he assured.

"Oh…" Haruhi sighed, feeling herself turn a little red from embarrassment, while reaching down to pick up the leash she had dropped. Hikaru stood up as she did, eyes locked on hers, a smile burned into his face.

"Sorry for running into you!" he said, obviously just wanting to keep talking. Otherwise, he may have never apologized.

"Oh, it's fine!" Haruhi answered anyway, knowing perfectly well Hikaru probably didn't mean it, even if they hadn't seen the other for almost ten years. Remembering Hikaru's near to disastrous social skills (in no way associated with his flirting skills), Haruhi decided to be the next to bring about a mild conversation.

"What are you doing here, Hikaru?" she asked, disregarding how the statement sounded almost insulting. Hikaru just laughed again. Haruhi couldn't remember him ever been this cheery…

"Not only do I live here, I kind of work here too," he answered, his smile about to rip his face in half.

"In the park?" The smile disappeared. "Isn't that illegal?" Silence.

"Why would I live in the park, Haruhi, really?" Hikaru snapped gently, "You're as slow as ever."

"Excuse me! I happen to be a lawyer now, I don't think you can accuse me of being slow!" Haruhi fought. Hikaru's eyes shone again, followed by the bright smile once again. He moved a little closer to Haruhi.

"Really? Good job, Haruhi! I wondered if someone like you would be able to make it!"

"What's _that _supposed to mean?!" Hikaru just laughed. Again. Haruhi dropped the issue of the insult.

"Um, Hikaru?" she began.

"Huh?" he asked back, recovering from what seemed to be his hundredth laugh attack in the brief moments he had spent with Haruhi in the park.

"You looked like you were in a hurry to get somewhere," Haruhi went on, "Where were you going?" Hikaru froze before breaking out screaming.

"Gah! That's right! I'm late!" he shouted in panic before starting to run off again. "Be here again tomorrow, kay?" he called back while continuing down the path, looking back at Haruhi. She watched him disappear across the busy street, a little confused.

"Sure, what time?" she quietly asked to herself. Antoinette pulled on the leash, sending Haruhi lurching forward. This time, she really did fall on her face for the second time that day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note from the Author: **Da da DA! Another host club member enters the story! Yes, they will all show up, but it'll be a relatively slow process. My original plan was to bring in a host every chapter, but I think that may change...I'm not sure though...Anyway, I seem to be moving pretty fast on this one so I hope it's all right! I'm just sort of...writing...

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

"What's the problem?! I told you I was sorry, didn't I?!" Hikaru yelled from across the table, catching everyone's attention in the too-silent restaurant.

"But this was _important_! Our _company _is at stake! And the only person that could have _saved _it left because _you _were _late_!" Kaoru fought, matching his twin's anger.

"But I'm telling you, what I was doing was more important!"

"What are you talking about?! _More _important! Than _this_! Did you run into a pole or get hit by a car on your way here, because something must have messed with your mind!"

"Nothing like that happened!" Hikaru calmed down with a cough, clearing his throat so his brother would hear clearly what he was about to say, "I happened to meet someone." Of course, Kaoru didn't take this as well as Hikaru would have liked him to. Instead of yelling, Kaoru stood up and walked out of the restaurant. Everyone he passed was shrouded with the evil/tense aura swirling around him (as though the yelling hadn't been enough).

"Kaoru! Wait up!" Hikaru whined, chasing after his brother, who had no sign of forgiving him at that moment, if ever, "I'm sorry, okay? Look! I said it again! Come on, you know I don't do this all the time!" There was silence as the door was pushed open and the twins left from the business meeting that never began because of Hikaru's absence.

For three blocks, Hikaru tried apologizing and explaining the situation, but when all else failed, he decided to share his secret…

"Okay! Do you want to know what really happened?" he asked the other twin angrily. Kaoru gave him a curious (yet angry) side glance, still trying his hardest to ignore his brother.

"I…I ran into Haruhi…" Hikaru confessed, wanting to have kept that to himself, so he could have monopolized her time, thus catching up on ten years faster. After knowing all there was to know, he would have at last shared his news with Kaoru, but now, his plan was ruined.

Kaoru stood stiff, but in a different way. He suddenly drew all attention to his instantly forgiven twin and broke out into a triumphant smile.

"See? See! I told you! You two were meant to be together! I've said that all this time, and you didn't believe me!" he took a moment to laugh evilly at his "genius" before snapping back to Hikaru.

"So…?" he encouraged.

"So nothing," Hikaru answered, looking away, rather let down that the answer were true.

"Oh come on, two lovers finally reunited? Something _had _to have happened," Kaoru pushed further, feeling left out (though there wasn't much to be left out of).

"We weren't lovers!" Hikaru corrected, "That was some idea _you _created when I told you…!" Kaoru waited with a smile.

"That I…liked her…and stuff," Hikaru finished quietly. It wouldn't have been so embarrassing to say had it not still been a little true. The minute he had seen her in the park, it was like all his old feelings had hit him like everything hard and painful imaginable, but twice as hard and painful as they had hit him back the day he had admitted it to himself. He hadn't thought it was possible, but she was even more beautiful than she had been before…That's when he remembered…

"Oh! Kaoru," he started, "Haruhi has long hair now." Once again, Kaoru looked stiff.

"What?" he asked quietly, in a strange form of shock.

"Yeah, I know."

"It's long now…"

"Yup."

"Long…" The two twins looked at each other in deep thought before saying in perfect unison, "Think of all the things we could have done if she had long hair back then…" They thought for another moment before breaking out in their devilish twin laughter, which sounded almost as though they were taking turns laughing.

"Are you going to see each other again?" Kaoru asked, after the two had had their moment to be amused over the shared thoughts they didn't need to tell the others. Hikaru looked horrified.

"Hikaru?"

"I just told her to wait at the park tomorrow," he said so quietly, it was almost said in a whisper, "I forgot to set a time…Gah! She could be there any time during the day! How am I supposed to know when she'll be there!"

"Looks like you'll have to wait all day then," Kaoru bluntly suggested.

"Kaoru?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know how stupid that sounds?"

"Oh, it'll be fine. She doesn't need to know you've been there the whole day. You can tell her you just got there. It'll be a 'crazy coincidence' again, or something to that effect."

"But…isn't the industry in jeopardy?" Now Hikaru was just nervous and trying to find excuses to _not _see Haruhi again.

"Don't worry! I can take care of it!" Kaoru assured, completely disregarding his anger only moments before of how Hikaru had ruined their chances of fixing the company simply because he hadn't been there. This left the older twin in a rather confused state of mind. He usually knew how his brother worked, but when it came to Haruhi, trying to understand Kaoru's mind was a near impossible task.

"Besides, we still talk with Kyouya every now and then! He knows how to handle money and such! I'll just ask _him _for help!"

"Do you remember the last time you tried that?" Kaoru lost all pride, but kept the proud smile for as long as he could. Once the dark memories began to flood in, though, neither had any joy left…Only cold and empty souls…The twins shuddered.

"Maybe that's not such a good idea…" Kaoru re-thought, "Well, I'll think of something. What's one day? You'll wait wherever you need to, and call me when she shows up. I can take a little moment to say hello to our old favorite toy, right?"

"If I'm taking the day off, you _shouldn't _be able to go anywhere," Hikaru muttered almost to himself, but Kaoru heard and took the opportunity to "seal the deal."

"A-ha! You just said it yourself. You're taking the day off to wait for Haruhi!"

"I didn't say _that_-!" Hikaru tried to defend, but with no success. Kaoru was in another "I-won't-listen-to-anything-you-say" mood, and was humming joyously to drown out any protests Hikaru had. Haruhi was back and he had to get back to work on his "lovely couple" project he had started oh-so long ago.

And he had to finish it before Haruhi happened to run into one of the certain someone's who would ruin his perfect plans…

Little did Kaoru know, one of the certain someone's was already at Haruhi's door, unsure of whether to knock or just leave. And even more uncertain if he had the right house or not.


	3. Chapter 3

**Note from the Author:** So sorry for the delay! It wasn't long, but still. It was my sister's birthday yesterday, so, well, you know the routine. I didn't really get an opportunity to write. Anyway, here you are! The chapter lives and the next one is already in progress: to make up for the single day I lost. Yup! I'm "over-reacting!"

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

_Knock. Knock. Knock. _Haruhi's head was pounding in time with each knock on the door. Someone was either very angry or just wasn't sure how to knock on a door, but whichever one it was, Haruhi was sure she didn't have enough medicine to fix her headache now.

"I'm coming! Just wait one second!" she called to whoever was at the door. Though her head was screaming for aspirin, Haruhi wanted to keep the obnoxious soul at the door waiting for as long as she could. It was her idea of revenge. But upon hearing her response, the impatient guest knocked quicker and harder. Haruhi groaned loudly and went to the door.

"Yes?" she almost yelled, opening the door in fury. She tried to calm herself down, but the second she swung the door open, her heart began to race.

"Haruhi, your hair's long, but it's you! It's really you!" cried a happy, teary-eyed Tamaki as he wrapped Haruhi in his arms and began to spin around with "fatherly" affection while continuing to chant "It's you!" with every rotation. Haruhi tried desperately to pull away but only found the strength to do so when, oddly enough, she was feeling weak enough to puke.

"Sen-senpai?" she almost screamed, the name coming simply out of habit. After referring to him as her senior once more, Haruhi felt rather ridiculous.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Tamaki scolded, waving a finger, "I am _not _your senpai! You have no choice but to call me by my name now, Haruhi-kun!" It was obvious Tamaki took great enjoyment in being able to rub that fact in _someone's _face. "Just 'Tamaki' will do fine!"

Haruhi was having trouble remembering if she fell asleep or not…_There's no way I don't see _any _of them in ten years, and all of the sudden two pop up! They're like daisies or something!_

"Um…Tamaki-senpai…?" Haruhi gave the name a shot, but she just couldn't get away from the old 'tradition.' Ignoring Tamaki's enraged "Not senpai!" Haruhi went on to ask her question. In fact, it was the same question she had asked Hikaru in the park not that earlier in the day.

"What are you doing here?" After the words left her mouth, Haruhi almost regretted saying them. Almost. An arrow of biting pain shot through Tamaki. He immediately turned the opposite direction and created a corner from open space as he clutched his knees to his chest and pouted in his own darkness.

"I can see I'm not wanted…" he muttered in his melancholy as he stood up, threatening to walk away. He probably would have to had Haruhi not stopped him.

"No! I didn't mean that! I just want to know how you got here."

"Bus…"

"No! Not like _that_! How did you know I lived here, senpai? We…well, we…haven't talked to each other for so long. How did you find out I was here?" Tamaki's attitude took another quick swing and he instantly erupted into a sly smile of perfect pride and confidence. _He hasn't changed at all, _Haruhi thought in amusement.

"Well, I _would _tell you," Tamaki began, "but you would only laugh at me, so the reason I stand here on your doorstep today is to forever remain a mystery."

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Haruhi suddenly realized she had forgotten to let her guest in, even if it was Tamaki and he was sounding rather stalker-like, "Please, come in. I've just left you standing out here. It's kind of cluttered. I haven't exactly finished settling in…" Haruhi stood to the side of the door, not sure of whether it was a good idea to let him in, especially when her house was in such a condition.

Tamaki stood in awe for a moment, his eyes turning "puppy" as they had so often in the past. His must not have planned as far as actually being let in for a visit. He probably hadn't even thought past getting to the door. But after a short while (and a cough from Haruhi) he stepped inside.

The moment Haruhi closed the door, Tamaki let out a cry of utter joy and excitement.

"You have a dog!" he yelled like a child on Christmas morning. When Haruhi turned around to face him, she found herself looking at nothing but the wall on the other side of the room. The golden retriever had leapt on top of Tamaki and was now finding great amusement in licking the guest's face to shreds. Though it looked unbelievably uncomfortable, Tamaki seemed to be having as much fun as the dog.

"Antoinette! Get off him!" Haruhi yelled, interrupting the 'bonding' between the animal and the eternal child. The light and excitement in Tamaki's eyes brightened.

"Antoinette? Really?" he asked, forgetting to breathe, "Just like _my _Antoinette!" Haruhi hoped it wasn't too big of a mistake to let that slip…

"Can I get you anything?" she quickly changed the subject while continuing to act as a host…a _different _kind of host.

"Oh, no! You already invited me in! I couldn't ask you for anything!" Tamaki shouted in genuine distress, getting up off the floor, flailing his arms around. Haruhi stared for a moment.

"Are you sure?" she pressed. Tamaki nodded. "Okay…" Seeing Antoinette ready to pounce again, Haruhi decided to take action.

"Antoinette! Room!" she commanded, pointing up the stairs on the other side of the room. In the brief moment her eyes were locked on the dog, making sure she went upstairs, Tamaki had already become greatly absorbed in looking at the picture on the coffee table, scattered with the papers from the case she had won that very day.

"You look just like her," Tamaki said happily, still engrossed in the picture. Haruhi turned her attention to Tamaki, caught a little off guard with the comment. She tried remembering what picture she had on the table, but when memory failed her, she walked over to see.

There was a picture of her mom, smiling with pure joy as she held a baby Haruhi in her arms.

Tamaki lifted up the picture and held it up in front of him, next to Haruhi's face. He compared the two for a moment before smiling again.

"Yup," he declared, "You two look almost identical." Haruhi felt herself blush a little, and took the picture from Tamaki. She took her turn in looking at her favorite picture of her mother.

"You think so?" she asked, still unsure of the comparison. Her father had told her she looked like Kotoko a long time ago, but it wasn't often brought up, so Haruhi had often wondered if the statement were true or not. She felt herself start to smile ever-so slightly. She liked the thought.

"Positive!" Tamaki shouted, removing another forty-five percent of Haruhi's doubt.

Haruhi's happiness vanished, becoming replaced with guilt, as she remembered she had been the one to stop sending Tamaki weekly 'updates on life,' as they had arranged to do ever since he graduated and preparing to take over the family company consumed most of his time, as well as attending one of the most top-notch colleges in the nation. The fact he had been able to do all that and still send his side of the messages, whereas Haruhi had been granted much more free time and started to slack on sending said messages, made Haruhi feel absolutely horrible.

"Tamaki-senpai?" she asked, once again, ignoring the "Not senpai!" of Tamaki, "I'm really sorry. For not…replying." Tamaki had the same puppy (though perhaps more like a dear) look of shock on his face that he had worn while at the door only minutes before.

"It's okay," he forgave quietly, rather confused as to why this was being brought up now, hence the quieting of his voice.

"No," Haruhi insisted, "It's really not. I mean, sure, I was busy, but there's no way I could have been _busier _than you. So…I really don't have an excuse. I'm the reason we got out of touch. I'm really sorry." There was a guilty silence as Haruhi looked at her feet in shame. She was a little surprised to hear Tamaki start trying to hold back laughter.

"It's really okay," he assured, sounding more positive this time, "I think it was more fun the way it happened." Haruhi looked back up. It was her turn to be confused.

"But-" she tried to argue again (feeling she now had a chance arguing with the hosts than she had in the past), but was interrupted.

"No! I shall hear no more of it!" Tamaki yelled in mock anger. _Nope_, Haruhi thought with a sigh, _I'm still not good at it yet._ Haruhi could support her point in almost any argument, but when it came to the host club, it felt like she really had no hope of winning the fight. Back then, it had caused Haruhi to have little moments of doubt as to whether she could really be a lawyer or not.

"Hey, Haruhi?"

"Yes?"

"Can I see you tomorrow? I don't really have much time today…" Haruhi was starting to become rather frightened. _First Hikaru, now Tamaki. Who next! The pervert I defended? _

"A-all right," Haruhi agreed, without really thinking about it. Part of her was just amused at the thought of seeing two hosts again in one day, and the hope of more amusement as another one showed up.

"Great!" Tamaki cheered, "I don't really know when I'll have time off tomorrow, so I hope you don't mind if I just sort of show up. It's Sunday, so I assume you don't have work." He rambled on, paying no attention to any of Haruhi's almost-said sentences. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then! And you better not call me 'senpai'!" He sang the last sentence as he walked out of the house, leaving Haruhi all alone in minor distress.

"Wonderful," she said to herself. It was a good thing she _didn't _have to work on Sundays…Tomorrow would be an interesting day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Note from the Author: **Okay, so this is the shortest chapter yet, but I don't expect this to become the case for all the chapters to come. Sorry for the shortness, but there just wasn't much to write on this little "issue" and I don't like _trying _to make things longer because then they just sound...forced, I guess. So, this is the best I could do. I don't think anyone will mind, but I thought I'd explain myself anyway, and assure you, the chapters should usually be as long as they have been in the past. (You may not notice, but it's about four hundred words shorter than the other chapters, that's what all this is about.)

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

"You _really _should have come with me! Her hair is _long _now! Long! Can you believe it?" Tamaki ranted, bouncing and twisting around in his seat like an impatient child. Kyouya appeared to be ignoring him as he typed away on his computer. The only sign that he was even slightly listening to Tamaki was his occasional "hmm" at the times he thought most appropriate.

"And she has a _dog_! And guess what? Guess what? The dog's name is _Antoinette_! I always knew she liked my Antoinette! Can you believe it?"

"Hmm."

"And she doesn't live in that small apartment anymore! She has a house! A _real _one! Can you believe it?"

"Hmm."

"Are you listening?"

"Hmm."

"Kyouya!" Tamaki whined, "You're so cold…" He started pouting in his chair, looking pathetically at his long-time friend from across the desk.

"I never said I wasn't listening," he said blankly, his fingers starting to speed up in their typing.

"So you were listening?" Tamaki asked, getting excited, leaving his pouting position.

"I never said that either."

And the pouting resumed.

"But it sounds to me as though you wasted the visit you've been waiting so long for," Kyouya went on after the silence started to ring. Tamaki looked angry as he got ready to defend himself.

"I did not waste it!" he fought, not able to think of a better argument.

"The most you have to tell me is how her hair is long and she own a house and a dog sharing the same name as your own."

"But I didn't waste it…"

"You've spent the last, what, five years, looking through every phonebook in every major city in Japan, calling or visiting every 'Fujioka Haruhi' you could find."

"That's…not-"

"Oh, excuse me, you're right. That's not what happened. You insisted on searching for every 'Haruhi' in Japan, worried at the possibility of her being married, thus her name would have changed."

"You know, when you say it like that…it sounds like I'm a pervert…"

"No. Just obsessed."

"I'm just worried about my daughter!" Kyouya stopped typing at this comment and looked at Tamaki with his shadow king eyes.

"I thought you gave up that thought a long time ago."

"Um…well…I just…saw her…and I felt like…her…father…" Tamaki said slowly and quietly, not sure if that was exactly the case.

"You can't run to fatherly emotions as a 'refuge' every time you start to feel that way, Tamaki. You're going to have to admit it sometime," Kyouya pointed out. Tamaki was rather disappointed by this conclusion. Particularly because it was true.

"Fine. I'm not her father," he admitted, "Are you happy now?"

"Relatively," Kyouya said, fairly satisfied, reaching into one of the desk drawers and pulling out a notebook. He opened it and began typing what he saw on the first page. The clacking of the keyboard echoed through the large office as the two sat silently again. The quiet was at last broken by Tamaki's smile, the sign of more of his ranting and raving to come.

"But you should really go see her some time soon," he picked up where he had been 'interrupted' earlier, "You'll be so surprised! I was! But I think I was more happy than surprised…I mean, if you went through every phone book in the country to find just one person, I think _you _would be happy if you found them, too!"

"I wouldn't do that."

"And you'll love Antoinette too! She's so cute! I want _another _Antoinette just like hers! Even though the two Antoinette's look the same, they're not identical! So I'll just have two dogs that look the same!"

"More about the dogs?"

"I'm definitely going to go see her tomorrow!"

"The dog or Haruhi?" "I know I wasn't there for long, but it was frightening for my poor soul to be put in that position. That's why I go there tomorrow! I shall prepare every inch of my being to face her again!"

"I assume you're talking about Haruhi now."

"Does that sound too stalker-like? To say I'm going to prepare _that_ much? It's nice to get ready a little bit, but to ready my entire soul for such an encounter…Is that scary?"

"Not as scary as the phone books." Once again, the silence began ringing throughout the office.

"Just work…" Tamaki ordered, trying not to think about how his "adventures" would sound frightening to some people, and they may began to worry about Haruhi's safety. That is- if they didn't know Tamaki. If they were well acquainted with him, they would know that the task would seem natural for such an eccentric person.

"Don't you have your own work to do?" Kyouya asked a little harshly. Tamaki thought about it for a moment.

"Yeah…yeah, I do…" Tamaki did indeed have much work to do, and it had been the reason he left Haruhi's house early, but he figured most of it was being done by other people at the moment, so he came to the conclusion that he could spend at least another hour occasionally rambling on about his five minute visit to Haruhi's to Kyouya, and spend the time he wasn't talking thinking about what he was going to say next.


	5. Chapter 5

**Note from the Author:** Hmmm...it seems this chapter was short too...Sorry about that. And once again, sorry for the delay. I've been kinda busy lately. Anyway, I brought in a character who I don't know as well as the others because of her short appearance, but I did my best to make her sound like her. I hope you all know Mei, and if you don't, well, if you read the manga (which you totally should!) you shall find out! And I brought in _another _character who I had to take a big risk with, but, once again, I tried my best. Dang...two risks in one...scary...

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

When Haruhi woke up the next morning, she had almost forgotten the evening's events the previous day. Being as brief and out-of-the-blue as they had been, it's fairly simple to see how someone could forget. In fact, Haruhi may not have remembered at all had the phone not rang.

"Hello?" she said into the phone, suppressing a yawn that was desperate to come out.

"Hey Haruhi!" came the familiar, feminine, snotty, cheerful voice of an old friend. Haruhi still wasn't sure if the sound of that voice was a good thing or not, but because of the interactions and friendship of their okama fathers, the girls' relationship was unavoidable.

"Oh, hi Mei. What do you need?" Haruhi greeted with zero enthusiasm.

"Geez, I _was _going to invite you to come along with me and Fujiko for a little shopping on this lovely Sunday, but with that attitude, you can just forget it," Mei rejected harshly. And that's when Haruhi remembered.

"I wouldn't have been able to go anyway," she shot back, "I'm meeting a couple people today."

"Oh my God, Haruhi! Are you two-timing?!" Mei yelled into the phone, destroying Haruhi's poor ear, "When I told you to get a boyfriend, I didn't mean you should go _that _far!"

"Mei, don't put me on the same level as you," Haruhi sighed viciously. As Mei tried to defend herself with things like "He came onto me!" and "It was a one time thing!" Haruhi went on to explain herself.

"That aside, I happened to run into a couple guys from the host club yesterday,

so-" But of course, Mei can't remain silent for very long. Not when it comes to this sort of thing.

"Woah, woah, woah- hold on," her voice ordered from the other line, "A couple meaning 'two,' right? You ran into _two _guys from that club?"

"That's right."

"Well?!"

"'Well' what?"

"Who were they?! Was it Bunny and what's his face?"

"It's _Hunny _and _Mori_," Haruhi quickly and harshly defended, "And no, it wasn't either of those two."

"Ooh! Was it those freakishly sexy twins?" Haruhi felt herself blush a little, but she wasn't quite sure why. It wasn't the first time someone had described the twins that way…

"N-no…well, one of them…"

"Was it the _really _sexy one or the just kind of sexy one?"

"T-the…i-it…u-um…t-the…Hikaru…would you just call them by their _names_! I don't know who you're talking about when you refer to them like that!" Haruhi couldn't bring herself to use the word "sexy," or anything related to it, to describe the twins she knew so well. Or, at least, _had _known so well.

"Sorry," Mei apologized, though obviously not sorry at all, "I can't help it. I didn't know them for very long. You can't expect me to remember their names, can you? Besides, it's been, like, what, seven- eight years?"

"Ten," Haruhi corrected, sadness in her voice.

"Ten!" Mei repeated in horror, "God, I'm old…"

"Mm-hmm, that's nice," Haruhi said, no longer really listening to Mei, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for my meetings." Haruhi was hanging up the phone as Mei was laughing, "'Meetings'! 'Dates' would be a more-"

_Click._

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Haruhi wasn't normally one for dressing up, but something kept telling her to go change whenever she happened to pass by a mirror (or window). For perhaps the first time in her life (though she really couldn't be sure), Haruhi was feeling stressed from clothing. She usually left this sort of thing up to her dad.

_Dad…_ Haruhi ran to her cell phone and punched in her old home phone number.

"Please be home," she begged in a whisper. Her world lit up when she heard her father's voice on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Dad!" Haruhi screamed in distress, "I need help!"

"And a good morning to you, too, my lovely daughter!" he laughed, "What can I help you with?"

"I need an outfit! A 'going out' kind of outfit!" Haruhi felt herself start to blush for the second time that day, "B-but not _that _kind of 'going out!'"

"All right, give me just a second…" Ranka pondered with a bragging tone consuming his words. Considering how Haruhi wouldn't _have _a wardrobe were it not for her affectionate father, he had only to remember what he had bought his daughter.

"Where will you be going?" he asked after thinking a while.

"I don't know…the park, I think."

"Ha!" Haruhi jumped at the sudden shout. "Too easy! Definitely something simple, but still says 'I'm absolutely wonderful and my father will kill you if you even think about touching me!'"

"I don't need details, dad, just clothes." Haruhi could hardly believe how rich the "Mei" was in her life at that moment. She didn't like it…not one bit…

"Right. My sincerest apologies, my dear Haruhi. Try that pink shirt I just bought you-"

"The elbow-length-like one…?

"Yeah. And the white skirt-"

"The swishy one…?

"Yes. And the white shoes with-"

"Ah! The pink straps!" Haruhi felt accomplished.

"Exactly." And suddenly his voice changed to fit his okama side. "I'm off to work now! Go have fun, remember who you are, you're better than everyone out there- all that fatherly stuff! Call me tonight to tell me how the date goes!"

"It's not a date!" Haruhi protested, but he had already hung up the phone. _And I'll be meeting _two _people_, her thoughts shoved in as she walked off to get changed for the last time.

"Oh, great…" Haruhi moaned to herself, "Antoinette! What should I do about my hair?"

No. Haruhi didn't like these feelings at all…


	6. Chapter 6

**Note from the Author: **Wow...Sorry everyone...This took forever to upload. I had it finished a while ago, but there's a lot of stuff that's been going on with my family and I just never got to actually posting it...I'm really sorry. So, it's pretty short too, but I think I'm out of the short chapters now. And there's an OC in this particular chapter. I just needed another friend for Haruhi, so...yeah. She won't play much of a character. And I have great news! You have to wait another chapter to hear it! (I promise it won't take as long...) And for those of you who are interested, the english cast for the actual Host Club will be announced in about a week!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

The passing people on the street all stared in confusion, and some fear, as they passed by. Neither Kyouya nor Kaoru were giving off a pleasant aura, no matter how polite they tried to be. Both assumed they knew why the other was in such an odd place- meaning both wanted to tear the other's head off.

Again.

"You're the last person I would have expected to see in a dark alley like this, Kyouya," Kaoru said with fake cheeriness, "It suits your personality well." Kyouya put on his famous "shadow king" smile.

"You should join me and get used to it," he said, mimicking Kaoru's tone, "It's where you'll be living soon." Kaoru lost the happiness act after hearing that.

"I'm doing just _fine_, thank you," he lied.

"From what I hear, it's the exact opposite."

"All right, Kyouya! Spit it out! You and I both know the only thing that could pull you away from your desk is curiosity, meaning Tamaki's doing something he wouldn't normally do! What's he doing?!" Kaoru already believed he knew the answer, but if by some chance he were wrong, things would be a lot easier for him.

"Impressive," Kyouya replied, "You seem to be smarter when the 'other one' isn't around."

"Don't try to change the subject!"

"You misunderstand. I wouldn't dream of changing the subject." Kaoru hated sarcasm when it came out of this version of Kyouya's mouth. "To answer your question, I'm here for the same reason you are."

"You don't know why I'm here."

"Of course I do. What else would pull you away from the company your mother left you, which you have now put at risk of bankruptcy, other than Hikaru?"

"You make it sound like I'm in _love _with him…"

"Aren't you?"

"Just shut up!" Kyouya looked away for a moment, then shoved Kaoru behind him, shrinking further into the darkness he had been in before their encounter. Kaoru weaved his head around Kyouya, despite his anger at suddenly being pushed, to see the reason for the minor attack.

He noticed Kyouya's eyes were intently locked on a house across the street. Their was a small smile on his face as a figure went up to the door. Kaoru looked more closely to feel his plans be threatened. Tamaki was walking up to a house. Whose? Well, who else?

--

"Mei…I don't think we should be here…"

"Shut up, Fujiko, you want to be here as much as I do."

"Yeah, I guess, but…people are staring at us." Mei looked behind her shoulder from her crouched spot, concealed by a bush, to see her back was completely exposed at every passerby was staring oddly.

"Forget them, this is important!" Mei said harshly, snapping her head back to the house. Fujiko turned towards the street and cuddled her knees against her chest.

"Haruhi wouldn't like us doing this…" she reminded, but Mei ignored her.

"Fujiko, listen," she began after a moment's silence, "This is a _once_ in a _lifetime_ chance. Haruhi will never do something like this again. You don't want to miss that do you? Besides, it's our duty as friends to be sure these guys are good enough for her."

"What?! There's two?!"

"I didn't tell you that, before?" Fujiko shook her head vigorously.

"Oh…sorry about that." A sound like a scream escaped her throat as she pushed Fujiko's head lower, though she was facing the opposite way, and shushed everything around her.

"Observation Target One has arrived," she whispered, while her gaze turned to something similar to a glare of determination.

--

Tamaki was practically singing with joy as he walked up the steps he had the previous day. For years, he hadn't been the best father, but now was his time to make up for it! Completely forgetting his brief discussion with Kyouya, he once again insisted Haruhi was his daughter.

"Haruhi!" he called in a sing-song voice, well suiting his mood, as he knocked on the door. He had a bright smile on his face. He was going to be the best dad in the world!

"Eh, come in…" Haruhi's voice came, as the door opened, but her footsteps could be heard running away from the door, "I just have to grab something really fast…" Tamaki figured the slight crack in the door and the half-hearted welcoming (if that) meant he could just walk in. The moment his feet had entered, Antoinette came bounding. Tamaki let out a childish cheer as he let the dog playfully attack him.

"Antoinette! Stop it!" Haruhi ordered. The dog quickly obeyed, running past her and up the stairs, knowing the routine.

"I know you don't mind, senpai, but you really shouldn't encourage her," Haruhi sighed, walking towards the door. Tamaki tried standing up straight, but his shoulders felt permanently slouched. _Father, father, father, father, father, _his mind kept repeating.

"N-not…s-sen…" he failed to finish as he stared at Haruhi. She looked almost completely transformed in the last twenty-four hours. Yesterday, she had looked worn-down and tired, but today- today it was obvious she had a day off. She was so…_FATHER._

Tamaki shook it off.

"Not senpai!" he ordered again, this time clearly.

"Right…" Haruhi said, not really caring, "Um, I hope you don't mind, but I have to meet someone in the park sometime today, so could we talk there?"

"Of course we can, my lovely daughter! Whatever your heart desires!" _He's back on the father thing…?_ Haruhi complained in her head. It would have left Tamaki pouting the rest of the day if she had said it out loud.

"Thanks," she said in conclusion and walked out the door. Once she was past him, Tamaki let his face return to it's former state. He felt himself shaking a little. Suddenly, the chanting of _father _in his mind grew louder and faster.


	7. Chapter 7

**Note from the Author:** I would have gotten this chapter up faster, but I just kept adding things to it...I just wasn't satisfied with the "final" result, but I thought this was as good as I was going to get, so here you have it- the new chapter. And another entrance! Hooray entrances! I've been wanting to bring in this certain person (though by now you probably know who it is :P) for a while, but I just didn't know how to do it. Though I wasn't too happy with some parts of the chapter, I was definitely satisfied with the entrance I chose. I hope you enjoy it too!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I want to.

* * *

"What?!" Tamaki shouted, "You're a lawyer now?! A real one?! Oh Haruhi, I'm so proud of you!" Once again, Haruhi found herself inside of Tamaki's crushing hug, being spun around. She could only imagine the looks people must be giving…She pushed herself away, stumbling a little upon her landing. Tamaki didn't seem offended- he just kept smiling happily.

"Yeah, I thought I had told you. Sorry," Haruhi apologized, being reminded again of how she had cut off contact with Tamaki a long time ago. Not on purpose. It just happened.

"Do not let it trouble you, dear Haruhi! I see now why your time was preoccupied," Tamaki assured, "But the past is the past, and we're talking now. So, my lovely daughter, is there anything else of great interest you've been dying to tell your father?" Haruhi sighed.

"Well, you saw the house, you know I'm a lawyer…" she thought aloud. Trying to think of things to tell him proved difficult, which rather depressed Haruhi, making her wonder if she had really been living a pleasing life.

"Have you met…anyone?" Tamaki asked quietly, in the voice he usually used when he wore his puppy eyes. Haruhi brightened up. Yes, she had! She met lots of people! Maybe her life hadn't been so worthless after all!

"Yes, I did!" she cheered, smiling up at Tamaki, who suddenly felt multiple knives stab him in the back.

"I see…" he said in the same puppy voice.

"Uh-huh! One of them was Fujiko. She's very sweet. Really shy, but sweet. And then there was Minami, and we got along for a while, but we just lost touch. Mei and I have been getting, um…closer? Those are really the only people since the Host Club worth noting. It's not that I don't like any of the others, but, you know, they were just, well, there, I guess." Tamaki had stopped walking while Haruhi had talked about her friends. She had stopped too, but hadn't really noticed, due to being the one speaking.

"But…have you…" Tamaki trailed off, "Never mind." Maybe it's best not knowing. The word "father" echoed again. Haruhi just blinked as they continued walking again. After a few seconds, maybe a minute or so, of silence, Haruhi realized what Tamaki had meant. She began to laugh softly, though she tried to supress it.

"Oh, you meant that kind of meet," she pointed out to herself, "I should have guessed. Well, to be honest, no, I haven't. Mei just says I'm too dense to realize when someone likes me, but I think they really don't. That or they just haven't seemed right. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, very well," Tamaki said, his voice returning to his usual drama-tone. The dark puppy aura left.

"How about you?" Haruhi asked, feeling it was now his turn, "What have you been doing all this time?"

"Well, you know I inherited the Suou company a long time ago," Tamaki pointed out, but he shut himself up before he could continue. Most of his free time had been searching for Haruhi…but he couldn't tell her that. Quick, Tamaki, think of something! his mind yelled at him.

"And, um, I, um, make…uh…furniture…"

"You what?"

"I what?"

"You just said…never mind." Haruhi could tell. He was hiding something and it was probably best not to push it. Especially if it were Tamaki…

"And, um," Haruhi started to change the subject, but would feel repetitive if she let it out. Oh well…"Have you met anyone?" She wasn't sure why, but Haruhi really wanted to hear the answer she had given…

"No," Tamaki said with a little sigh, "I just had too much on my mind, I suppose." Haruhi caught herself before she started smiling. That wasn't supposed to be a good thing. They kept walking in silence, both secretly pleased that the other had been somewhat anti-social for the past few years.

After they had almost reached the other end of the park- and Haruhi had still seen no sign of Hikaru -Tamaki finally took action. He grabbed Haruhi's hand and pulled her off to the side of the path surrounded by sakura.

He took a deep breath in. She was so…so beautiful. And the falling cherry blosson petals weren't helping to change his opinion any. If anything, they were only making it worse…Tamaki would have liked to blame them for what he wanted to do next, but really all the blame went to his best friend and his master skills of influencing people to believe whatever he believed.

Haruhi looked up at him, a little taken back by the sudden action. Her eyes were wide, and, though she was clueless as to why, her heart was racing. She wanted it to stop, afraid Tamaki would hear it. It wasn't even supposed to be racing. She was just standing in front of a friend. Friend. Friend. Why was she having trouble breathing?

Tamaki took a step closer to her, so they stood only a few inches apart. Haruhi suddenly blushed uncontrollably. What's he doing? she thought in a panic, What am I doing? I shouldn't be freaking out like this! What's wrong with you Haruhi? No! It's all his fault! What's wrong with him?!

"Haruhi…" Tamaki began softly, unsure if he should keep going, "I…I need to tell you something…" And then it stopped. Haruhi's heart really stopped. Stopped. Just like that. She couldn't breathe. She felt completely and utterly dead- yet so alive. Why…?

"Haru-chaaaaaaaaaaaan!!"

Haruhi barely heard her name being called. From the way Tamaki kept looking into Haruhi's eyes, he hadn't really heard it either.

"I-" he started again, needing to look away again.

"Haaaaru-chaaaaan!!"

The ground suddenly disappeared under Haruhi as she went toppling over, a pair of small, child-like arms wrapped around her neck, almost choking her, but not quite. To her surprise, she didn't hit the ground when she fell…Once she regained her composure, Haruhi realized what she was laying on, and what was around her neck. She quickly leaped up, feeling the dangling, laughing object "tied" to her swing around joyfully. Her face was red. Tamaki sat up, rather relieved to be able to breathe again, after Haruhi's fall on him.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Haruhi hurriedly apologized before snapping her attention to her new scarf, "H-Hunny-senpai? Is that you?"

"Haru-chan remembers me!" Hunny chanted merrily. He let go of Haruhi and stood in front of her. She felt her blush grow redder. How long had he been there…?

"Takashi! Takashi! I told you she didn't forget us!" Hunny called behind him, then looked to the ground with a smile, "Tama-chan's here too!" Haruhi glanced over to where Hunny had been shouting to see a practically unchanged Mori standing off to the side, a blank look on his face.

"Mori-senpai?" Haruhi asked, a little lost as to how and why they suddenly appeared. He lifted a hand as to wave.

"No, Haru-chan, that's wrong! We don't go to school anymore! We're not your senpai anymore! You can call me whatever you want now!" Hunny corrected. Haruhi felt the butterflies inside her calm down.

"Oh…right. Sorry, I guess it's just an old habit," she laughed, "Just Hunny then. And I guess you're just Mori from now on." She looked over at Mori, who nodded with a very quiet "yeah" attached. Tamaki shot up.

"What is this?!" he yelled in complaint, "I've been telling you for days now that I am no longer your senpai and you haven't listened to a word I've spoken! But now that Hunny and Mori say it…! Oh, what parent am I to have raised my child so poorly?!" Haruhi glanced in evil nonchalance towards him.

"How about you stop the parent act and I stop the senpai?" she suggested, her eyes reflected in her voice.

"But…but…I am your…father…" Tamaki whimpered, getting ready to run to the nearest corner. The persistence in Haruhi's face was too clear to argue. He slacked his shoulders and let his dark, pouty aura hang over his head. He nodded, to upset and disappointed for words. Haruhi smiled not so sweetly and returned her attention to her even older friends.

"What brings you here you two?" she asked them with a now very sweet smile on her face. Mori pointed to Hunny.

"We're having a family reunion at one of our private estates not far away!" Hunny informed, little Hunny flowers swirling all around, except the areas where they were rejected by Tamaki's depressed aura, "Of course, I couldn't leave Takashi behind, so he's here too." Mori made another waving motion.

"Well it's a good thing you decided to visit the park today," Haruhi said with a little laugh, "I was planning on being here a while." She thought about Hikaru again, feeling a little bad that she still hadn't seen him. She hoped she hadn't taken too long and he had left, or something. Or maybe he hadn't even shown up yet. Whatever the reason, she didn't want to miss the opportunity to catch up with yet another of the hosts.

"Oh! That's right!" Haruhi said, a sudden idea sprouting, "Have you by any chance seen Hikaru around here? I was supposed to meet him today…" Tamaki looked up at Haruhi, previous depression leaving and being replaced with another feeling…almost like…jealousy.

"Oh, so that's why you wanted to come to the park?" Tamaki stated rather than asked, trying to sound like his usual self, "I suppose I, too, would enjoy seeing him again."

"We should all go see Hikaru!" Hunny declared triumphantly, throwing his arms in the air. Haruhi kept laughing against her will. Hunny hadn't changed much either. He was still at least a foot shorter than Haruhi and his voice sounded like a child just barely about to hit puberty. The only distinguishable difference was the lack of the stuffed pink rabbit, which Haruhi guessed he still owned and loved dearly, but he just didn't see the need to carry it around everywhere anymore.

"Oh, Hunny?" Tamaki asked for her, "Where's Usa-chan?" Hunny let out some form of squeal, though not girly in anyway.

"Takashi! Takashi! They remembered Usa-chan too! You were wrong again!" Takashi made a noise of defeat. Hunny smiled back at Haruhi, "I left him home. I almost lost him once last year because I brought him into a movie theatre and he fell on the floor. The movie was so good, I just started walking away! I didn't even remember Usa-chan until I was in the car! Takashi went back and got him for me though." It wasn't as Haruhi had thought at first, but she really should have expected something like it.

"Mitsukuni…" Takashi said, sticking his arm out in front of Hunny, who looked curiously at a watch around Mori's wrist. He "screamed" and looked at Haruhi and Tamaki in worry.

"What's wrong, Hunny?" Tamaki asked, putting emphasis on the lack of "senpai" which was obviously meant for Haruhi to hear.

"Um, I have to hurry," he said sadly, "If I don't, I'll be late for the reunion. But we should get together sometime soon again, ne! Where's your house?" Haruhi pointed to the opposite end of the park.

"At the other end, you'll see a house right on the corner of the street. It's the only one with a little garden in front, so it shouldn't be hard to see. I should probably give you my number just in case…" She reached for the bag she usually carried, to find it wasn't there. She sighed and continued to look down by her leg where it was supposed to sit- as though that would bring it back.

"It's okay! If we need it, we'll just look in the phone book! Tama-chan can come too!" Hunny said, almost skipping out of the park. Mori gave the two a weak smile.

"Bye," he said before following Hunny. Haruhi was hit by Hunny's words moments too late. Had he…had he thought…that?!

"How wonderful!" Tamaki declared, throwing his arms around in the same dramatic way his voice spoke, "I come to the park with my dau-…Haruhi and I come across old friends! Is anything more pleasing?!" Haruhi, at this point, had completely forgotten that she didn't want to forget meeting Hikaru, and glanced back up nervously to Tamaki, meeting his eyes.

"Um, Tamaki…" the name sounded so different without its usual addition, "What were you going to tell me earlier?" The question itself made Haruhi's heart go insane again, but Tamaki didn't answer. He grabbed Haruhi in his arms, again, and started spinning joyously, again.

"Yay! Haruhi didn't call me 'senpai'!" he called out, unbelievably satisfied with his day.


	8. Chapter 8

**Note from the Author:** Kay, I think this chapter is the second to last scene Mei will appear in...I think I need her for one more thing...yeah...yeah I think I do...But she wasn't supposed to be a character in this, so how she got caught up in it, I'm really not sure. Ah, well. It happens. Anyway, if you haven't caught on or whatever, most of this story is reflecting the personalities and such of the characters in chapter 59 and up of the manga. So, in case you were curious as to slight differences in personality and such of certain characters a-hem cough cough mostly Kaoru cough you know why. And if you haven't read the manga, you really should. Personally, I like the anime a little better, but the manga's amazing too!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

"I don't believe it…" Mei said in astonishment, almost under her breath, as she walked down the street with Kyouya, and Kaoru- who had accidentally run into her (and Fujiko, who ran away blushing when she saw the two), literally, while both parties had been spying. Of course, Mei wasn't about to let two of the most beautiful men she had ever seen just bump into her, literally, and then walk away. So she followed them around and out of the park.

"What's not to believe?" Kyouya asked plainly, obviously pleased with what he had seen only a few minutes before.

"Shut up Kyouya!" Kaoru yelled, obviously _not_ pleased with what he had seen only a few moments before, "Haruhi will choose Hikaru in the end, and then you'll be sorry if ever got the stupid idea in your head about milord and Haruhi."

"'Milord'?" Kyouya repeated in mild surprise, "I must say, I haven't heard that in a while."

"Well I don't know what either of you are talking about, and that's just rude," Mei scolded. Both Kyouya and Kaoru looked at her with a look of attempted politeness combined with frustration.

"Then maybe you should just leave?" Kaoru suggested in his innocent tone.

"I agree," Kyouya said with formality rich in his voice, "This argument doesn't really concern you, Miss Mei. Perhaps it's best if you just go home now." Mei looked at both of them, enraged. No matter _how _beautiful they were, they weren't getting away with this. She would leave, but they were going to regret it later. Kaoru sighed in relief when she stormed off, too angry to say words, but rather let out a chain of aggravated whines. Kyouya just turned his eyes back towards the street in front of him.

"Finally…" Kaoru said, "I thought she was going to give us away in the park."

"That's how it appeared," Kyouya agreed. For a moment, the tension between the two was gone- as it had been before the "war" of who-was-best-for-Haruhi began. The evil sparks of light hatred returned though after a few seconds, when they realized where they had just been, and where they probably would be for a while now.

Kaoru stopped his glaring when he saw someone across the street walking head down into a…bar?

"Don't think my running away means surrender!" Kaoru ordered, practically sprinting across the street, causing a couple cars to have to stop suddenly. Of course, horns were honked with malicious intent.

"I don't know where I would have inherited such an idea," Kyouya said, now to himself as he continued down the street towards the not so well hidden limousine that would take him back to his office.

"Hikaru?" Kaoru called, walking into the bar towards his brother, who had his forehead on the counter and his arms hanging pathetically at his side, "What are you doing here? You don't drink." He paused a moment. "Do you?" Hikaru lifted his face so Kaoru would be able to hear him.

"No, and I don't plan to," he stated plainly.

"Then why are you here?"

"The idea of sitting alone, depressed, and pathetic inside of a bar sounded really appealing. But now that you're here, I'm not really alone. Congratulations Kaoru, you have now defeated my purpose for entering this stupid place." Kaoru wasn't often perplexed at Hikaru's actions, but he wasn't really able to fully comprehend why Hikaru would find that picture tempting enough to try it for himself.

Until he realized…

"Was Haruhi not there…?" he asked, trying to sound convincing. He couldn't let Hikaru know he had been spying on her every action. Kaoru had originally intended to "check up" on his twin and Haruhi's meeting, but had gotten caught up in a different issue…such as "checking up" on Tamaki and Haruhi's meeting with Kyouya, who he didn't like to be around when it came to these sorts of Haruhi issues.

"No…she was there…" Hikaru put his forehead back on the counter.

"Then what happened…?" Kaoru wanted to yell out every thought he had on the issue right then and there, but he couldn't do it. He had to wait for Hikaru to tell him his story first…_then_ he could. Hikaru was silent. _O-oh, hurry up, Hikaru!_ his thoughts whined, his throat itching to complain about what he had seen.

"Did you…get in a fight…?" Hikaru shook his head, which scraped against the wood it was placed on.

"She was with milord…" Hikaru stated, his words muffled by the placement of his mouth (along with the rest of his face/head).

"I see…did anything…happen between them…?" Kaoru knew the answer. Something had _almost _happened between them, but, thank God, it was interrupted by Hunny.

"I saw them…as I was walking up to the spot where me and Haruhi met yesterday…" Hikaru went on, refusing to lift his head again, "They were…I don't want to talk about it…" _Gah!_ Kaoru's mind screamed.

"Oh, come on, Hikaru," he pressed gently, not wanting to sound like he was forcing his twin into telling him what he already knew, "When have you ever kept anything hidden from me?" He tried his hardest to smile- though Hikaru couldn't see it.

"Yeah…" Hikaru agreed, now lifting his head for more air, "Good point…" The two were silent as Hikaru continued to look sadly at nothing and Kaoru "smiled" as genuine as he could.

"So…?" Kaoru pressed again.

"Oh…right…" Hikaru sighed, "Well…I know they were…holding hands…and I think…they may have kissed…but I turned around…I wouldn't let myself see such a horrible sight…" He slammed his forehead back onto the counter. So he didn't have it right, but at least Kaoru had more to get angry about now, even if it wasn't true.

"Well that's just cold-hearted of them!" he stated angrily, not wanting to yell out of fear of attracting unwanted attention, "Both of them! Especially of Haruhi! She knew you would be around that day at any time! How she could do something like that, I will never understand! Right in front of you…I swear, the next time I see her, she's in for the worst punishment of her life! So horrible and evil, it's not suitable to be called a 'game.' Just a simple punishment! But not simple!"

"Don't blame Haruhi…" Hikaru ordered without force as he slid away from the counter and headed for the door, "Or milord…They just…go really well together…" Kaoru had to run a few steps to catch up with his brother.

"That's not true at all," he corrected with his own opinion, "Everyone knows they would make the worst and most awkward couple of all time! You'd have to be a complete idiot to think otherwise." He felt himself tense up with maliciousness as he distinctly thought of Kyouya as he said that.

"Thanks, Kaoru," Hikaru sighed, "But I really don't stand a chance. It's Tamaki."

"And what does _that _have to do with anything?" Kaoru asked, "He's an idiot. He'll be convinced he's Haruhi's father for the rest of his life. I'd say that leaves her entirely open for you to 'make your move'. We just have to get to her before _they _do."

"'We'?" Hikaru repeated, "And who's 'they'…?" But Kaoru was too caught up in his villainous plans to really care at that moment.


	9. Chapter 9

**Note from the Author: **And yet another chapter! The next one is in progress too, so I'm really moving right now...at least, for me. Well, because I'm moving fast, that could mean the chapters aren't as good or whatever, so if it's starting to "sink" or something of that nature, just let me know, and I'll take a little more time on them. Not a week, just a little time to sort of go over it, you know? I want to write it the best I can!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

Silence. Just…silence. They hadn't talked in what felt like hours but it really had only been ten minutes or so. Neither had anything to say. Haruhi was worried she would get to caught up in a conversation and then forget about Hikaru, who she had remembered not long ago, again. Tamaki was worried he would try doing the unthinkable again. And thus- silence.

They had sat down on the bench when walking back and forth not only became to tiring, but when it had started making them slightly dizzy. Haruhi thought as long as she was in the general area of where she had been yesterday, Hikaru would show up eventually and see her. But she didn't know why Tamaki was there…

"Um, Tamaki?" It still felt so weird on her tongue. She wondered how long she could keep it up. "You don't have to be here, you know. I mean, I don't see how this could be enjoyable for anyone." Tamaki just looked at her with bright and eyes and a smile to match.

"Nonsense," he said, "I'm not about to leave you here all by yourself. Besides, being such a lovely Sunday, I believe I deserve a small rest as well. I asked Kyouya to watch over things for me while I was away, so all is well, dear Haruhi."

"Oh, Kyouya?" Haruhi asked, striking up the conversation she hadn't wanted to begin, "How is he? I haven't seen him in ages."

"He's as well as well can be," Tamaki assured, "He's still the same as he was back in our host days."

"Constantly working? Deadly when he wakes up? Stingy bastard?" Haruhi asked jokingly, somewhat reminiscing on the past. Tamaki laughed a little at her description.

"The very same," he confirmed.

"I see. So he's still the shadow king…" Haruhi sighed. And they were back to silence. Haruhi felt her stomach want to growl. She wrapped her arms just a little tighter around her stomach, hoping it wouldn't make noise. She hadn't eaten breakfast that morning…She had been in too much of a "rush." Sadly, yet luckily, Tamaki noticed.

"Hungry?" he asked. Haruhi gave, blushing a little at her being given away.

"Yeah, a little," she said with a little nervous laugh, "Maybe we could just walk down the street and get something-" She was interrupted by Tamaki's sudden leap of the bench. He stood in front of Haruhi, looking angry.

"No!" he declared firmly, "Haruhi, would you be able to live with yourself if you left this park, even for a moment, and Hikaru came, only to find you were missing?! He would leave, heartbroken and depressed, believing you stood him up! I shan't have that!"

"But-"

"No! We find something in the park together or _I_ leave to get you something to eat! But you must stay here!"

"I don't think-" Haruhi stopped talking when Tamaki began to look more sternly at her.

"Okay, okay," she surrendered, "It's the afternoon, someone's bound to be selling something in the park." She stood up to get ready to go find a vendor. If she let Tamaki out into the city alone, he would be gone for hours, tempted to look into every shop he found interesting- which would be all of them. He would stand at each item and admire it's unbelievably low price for about five minutes before something else caught his eye. When he came back, he would have completely forgotten about food, all the vendors in the park would have left, and she would have to go home. Not only because by then it would be getting dark, but because she would be on the verge of death due to starvation. No. Tamaki could _not_ go alone.

"Are you sure?" Tamaki asked, worried that maybe food inside the park wouldn't satisfy the girl he wanted so badly to insist was his daughter.

"Positive," Haruhi answered a little too quickly. Tamaki had hardly finished his sentence before the response came, "Hey, I think I see a crepe vendor! That sounds great! I think I'll just have that." She began to walk on ahead of Tamaki towards the small stand where a mother and her child were being handed their crepes.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki whined, "Wait!"

"I'm hungry," Haruhi called back, though it wasn't necessary. Tamaki had already ran up to her. Upon arriving at the stand, Tamaki's eyes widened and his drop practically dropped. _A-HA! _Haruhi's mind declared with triumph, _I knew it! I _knew _it! _Tamaki's eyes were locked in awe and wonder on the prices. He suddenly wore a smile similar to a child receiving some sort of free chocolate.

"I'll take fifty!" he screamed. Haruhi reached as high as she could on her tiptoes and could still just barely slap him on the back of the head.

"He didn't mean that," she told the vendor, "Just two will do fine."

* * *

As the sun was setting, Haruhi looked at all the checkered wrappers on the bench and realized they must have made the crepe vendor (who they had discovered was named Hiroshi) an extremely happy man. He had stayed an extra hour just for the two. Haruhi normally didn't like to overeat, but, either because she hadn't eaten a crepe in years or because Hiroshi was just an amazing cook, she made an exception and ended up eating five. Tamaki had eaten almost fourteen and nearly puked. Haruhi had tried to make him stop but he kept arguing that it was "just too amazing" in both price and taste. Lucky for Haruhi, Tamaki payed for all of them.

"Do you think we sent his kids to college?" Haruhi joked, smiling. Tamaki looked over at her, having to desperately remind himself to breathe.

"Who, Hi-Hiroshi?" he stuttered. The way the light of the vanishing sun danced on her hair…in her eyes…

"Who else?" Tamaki had to look the opposite way.

"O-of course we did," Tamaki joked back, still regaining steadiness.

"Tamaki? Do you still feel sick again?" Tamaki looked back at her after taking a deep breath.

"No, I'm fine," he said quickly, while he still had the confidence in his voice. He sighed in relief. The sun was setting fast. The air was already gaining a blue tint. He had looked at Haruhi for hours now, he would be fine from this point on, he hoped. He just hadn't been "prepared" for the sunset.

"I don't…I don't think Hikaru's coming…" Haruhi said, let down that he hadn't arrived all afternoon. At least, so she believed. Tamaki suddenly felt himself grow sad as he looked at the hurt expression on Haruhi's face.

"Maybe," Tamaki started to think of a reason, "Maybe he was just really busy so he couldn't make it." He thought again a moment. "And I bet he feels really horrible about it, but he's going to call you tomorrow…or something, and apologize."

"Maybe…" Haruhi said, regaining a little hope, "I mean, he inherited his mom's company, right? It has to be a difficult job." She stood up, feeling a little happier. Tamaki stood up with her, his emotions in sync with Haruhi's.

"Well, it's definitely night, now, or at least bordering," Haruhi stated, looking at the navy blue sky, "Guess I should go home now."

"Allow me to escort you," Tamaki offered, giving a dramatic bow, perfectly usual for someone like himself, "It's dangerous for you to walk home alone."

"It's only a couple blocks," Haruhi reminded, "But okay." She didn't want him to leave.

"It looks like the trees are glowing," Tamaki said cheerfully as they took their last walk of the day down the path, "I should really come here more often."

"At night?" Haruhi asked, thinking the idea would be a little frightening.

"Of course! Just look at it!" Tamaki demonstrated by looking to the side.

"But-" Once again Haruhi found herself interrupted.

"It's almost as beautiful as myself," Tamaki added with rather obnoxious narcissistic confidence while positioning his arms in what would make a great pose for some really lame magazine or something of that nature.

"Uh-huh, right…" Haruhi said sarcastically, forgetting he had that kind of side to him, "Well, it's dangerous to go anywhere this empty at night alone. You're going to need someone to go with you." The words escaped in her mouth in hinting tones, though she didn't expect someone as dense as Tamaki to catch on.

"Perhaps you're right," he agreed, but didn't say anything more.

"Well, here it is," Haruhi announced, "Home sweet home." The two walked up the steps together, both secretly wanting to spend just a little more time with the other. Haruhi knelt down to grab the spare key inside one of the fake rocks in the garden, remembering she had left her bag (with her keys) inside. After she unlocked the door in silence, she turned around and gave Tamaki a bright, genuine smile.

"Thanks for staying with me," she said, "It must have been really boring for you."

Tamaki couldn't take it anymore. He had do to _something_. Anything. His fingers gently wrapped around her arm and he pulled her close. He bent down and kissed the top of her head, still not confident enough to take that any further.

"I was with you," he softly reminded, "Of course today was perfect." He stood there a moment longer, both unable to move. It took thirty seconds or so, but Tamaki at last let go of Haruhi's arm and walked back down the steps and around the corner. Haruhi was half-frozen as she stumbled into her house and in the direction of her phone. Trembling she picked up the phone and dialed her dad's number. He wanted her to call him, right?

"Hello?" "D-dad…?" she began, voice shaking horribly, "I think…I think I have something to tell you…"

* * *

Tamaki could hardly take another step forward as he moved down the block of an unknown street. With a trembling hand, he pulled out his phone and punched in the only number he could think of at that moment.

"What do you want?" Kyouya's voice came from the other line, obviously annoyed at the call he wasn't expecting.

"I-I n-need you to come get me…" Tamaki said, his words shaking as badly as the rest of his body.

"Why can't you call one of your actual chauffers?" Kyouya pushed, sounding more and more angrier.

"I don't remember how right now…" Kyouya sighed.

"Fine. Where are you?"

"Um…I'm not really sure…"

"Well find out. I can't pick you up if I don't even know where you are."

"I'm…uh…not…n-not far from the park…"

"You're lucky I'm smarter than you," Kyouya stated, losing the evil tone. He hung up to leave Tamaki trying to remember how you hang up a phone.


	10. Chapter 10

**Note from the Author:** Here's something I don't do very often- I split this chapter into three parts...Ah well, I just couldn't extend a scene long enough to be a chapter and I probably would have bored you had I done that anyway, haha. The next chapter is already halfway finished so I expect to have it up soon, so don't expect to wait too long. As a side note- I have reached ten chapters! Woot! Congratulations and thank you to all you have "loyally" read all the way to this point. You have made me abnormally overjoyed! Thank you!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

It was obvious Kyouya was angry, no matter how silent he remained in order to contain said anger. Tamaki hadn't felt his life threatened by Kyouya like this for a long time. It was scary.

"Permission to speak…?" Tamaki asked quietly, almost in a squeak. Kyouya was quiet for a minute, but eventually answered.

"Permission granted," he said simply. Tamaki felt about two pounds of tension leave the car. That left forty-eight more and Kyouya would be relatively happy again.

"Um, well…" Tamaki started poking his fingers together as he made odd sounds, as though he were going to say something but made no plans of doing so in the near future. After many "um"s, "uh"s, and "well"s, Kyouya spoke again.

"Permission denied," he changed, turning his head to look out the dark window of the limousine, hinting he was no longer going to consider giving his attention to the one who had caused him an inconvenience that night.

"No! Wait!" Tamaki cried in desperation, grabbing Kyouya's arm and obnoxiously shaking him around until Kyouya had to rip the death grip of off him.

"Then just say it," he ordered Tamaki in frustration. Tamaki quickly reverted back to his nervous position, but hid his hands from view- so he wouldn't be tempted to follow through with any more distracting poking.

"I almost told her…" Tamaki finally said, not wanting Kyouya to pretend he didn't care again.

"Oh?" Kyouya sounded interested for the first time in a while, "And why didn't you?" Tamaki didn't really have a strong answer to that question. He had an excuse for one moment in the day, but why he never tried again- he didn't have an answer to that.

"Well…Hunny and Mori showed up, and then, I just, couldn't try to tell her again. I guess I let my troublesome nerves get the best of me."

"Apparently so," Kyouya plainly agreed after a sigh from Tamaki, "But you got one step closer, correct?"

"Maybe, but I don't think I'll do anything like that again," Tamaki stated with a little played laughter as he attempted to make the mood light-hearted.

"Why not?" Tamaki lost the happiness from his smile when he realized his attempt had failed.

"I'm really not sure."

"But you _are_ in love with her, aren't you?" Tamaki rested his head on his hand and let the faint hint of happiness back into the smile he refused to let go of.

"Yeah…I am."

* * *

The chair smashed to the floor, leaving it dead quiet in the room, except for the heaving breathing of an enraged Hikaru and the sigh of Kaoru, who was now rolling his eyes at the sudden change in attitude his brother was having.

"And _what _happened to the 'just-give-up' idea you had exactly?" he asked. Hikaru got ready to toss the lamp on the desk the chair had been at, but Kaoru smoothly reached out and snatched it, leaving his twin to grab air.

"I never said anything like that!" Hikaru yelled, "I'm not giving up! Not without yelling at that idiot first! He made a move without letting _me _know about it _first_! I used to tell him when _I _was going to try anything! And I never did anything like _that_!" He began to stomp his foot repeatedly on a pillow by his feet- one he had previously thrown when he had been by the bed -while angrily muttering to himself "idiot" with every stomp.

"Hikaru?" Kaoru began, his headache telling him it was time to update Hikaru on what really happened. He was still a little angry himself that he wasn't in "the lead" but he hadn't planned on going as far as Hikaru. He'd rather keep the house intact.

"What!?"

"Milord _didn't _kiss Haruhi. Or do anything of the sort." The room was dead. Not just silent, but dead. The tension, the sound- everything, just disappeared. Hikaru took one last slow stomp on the pillow.

"Huh?" he asked. Kaoru sighed before decided to explain the true story, which meant the revealing of his being at the park as well. Once the story was told, all Hikaru could do was fall over.

"Why didn't you just say that before?" he tried to ask calmly through gritted teeth. Kaoru just shrugged. Hikaru jumped back up onto his feet, fists clenched in mild victory and determination.

"That means he doesn't have the guts," Hikaru laughed maliciously.

"Mm-hmm, that's right," Kaoru spouted with nonchalance for lack of anything better to say, "I'm going to bed. We just missed a whole day of work, so we're getting up early tomorrow and we're finishing late- no questions asked."

"But-"

"What did I just say?" Kaoru interrupted, using his new found evilness to add to his words, making them sound like a threat more than anything else.

"Fine…" Hikaru whined, "Now get out of my room." He pointed to the door, pouting over the fact he had to work unnecessarily long the next day.

"Fine…" Kaoru whined back before quickly adding, "But you're getting up early tomorrow whether you like it or not" and slammed the door. Hikaru shouted a groan of complaint.

"But I'm depressed, remember?" he tried to call after his brother, in a final attempt to win this battle, but the absence of a response told him he had lost.

* * *

Haruhi collapsed back on her bed, arms stretched out on either side of her, letting out a long, exhausted breath. She closed her eyes and let the phone she had been talking on only seconds before fall from her hands. The gentle thud must have called the dog over, because she immediately rose from her corner and went over to the bed to joyfully lick Haruhi's fingers.

Ignoring Antoinette, Haruhi continued to look sorrowfully up at the ceiling, trying hard to find a reasonable argument against (or just forget) her dad's words. She was a lawyer. It shouldn't be hard…but Haruhi couldn't think of anything to disprove his point. It was all true…It was hard to disprove the truth. Really hard.

Haruhi moaned and turned over, pulling her now sopping wet fingers away from her dog and bringing them under her pillow, to further shove her face into it. When she realized it probably wouldn't do her any good at all to attempt to suffocate herself, she lifted her head halfway, and pathetically stared at the wall.

"No…" she moaned again, before proceeding with banging her head against the fluffy pillow in her arms, "No, no, no, no…" She turned her face towards the dog, still at her bedside.

"It's not true, Antoinette," she denied, "It's not, it's not, it's not…" But no matter how many times she denied it, everything else around her told her otherwise. The spinning in her head, the pain in her entire body, the heavy pounding of her heart, the lack of concentration, the trembling in her fingers, the butterflies in her stomach…It all told her one thing and one thing only.

Haruhi was completely, utterly, unmistakably in love.


	11. Chapter 11

**Note from the Author: **So this is what I call a fill-in chapter!! Hooray...? I'm having a little trouble thinking of what should come next or how I should finish it, so if you have anything you want to see, or any suggestions or something, please! Throw them in! I need them or else all the chapters will end up taking forever and maybe even lead to nowhere! (I think this one's leading somewhere...) I'm having horrible horrible writer's block, and I apologize for the long wait that comes with it, but I promise, if there was anything I could do, I would do it! Writer's block is my worst enemy...

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

Haruhi opened her eyes slowly when her fingers started tickling on a near painful level. She jumped and withdrew her hand just as quickly when she realized just that- something was tickling her fingers on a near painful level. She sighed in relief when she saw Antoinette at her bedside, again.

"Stupid dog…" she mumbled, "Why do you like doing that so much?" Antoinette just cocked her head to the side before walking back to her corner. Haruhi's eyes moved to the clock, hoping it wasn't too early.

"Perfect timing," she said to herself in approval, noting the hour and a half before she had to be at work. Haruhi dragged herself off the soft bed she already missed and moved towards the closet pulling out the first suit her hand grabbed and headed for the shower.

Crumpling Haruhi's spirits, she had taken too much time waking up to the hot water and only a little more than an hour remained, leaving half an hour to finish the rest of her morning "work" before she had to leave.

"Breakfast…" Haruhi declared under her breath, hurrying into the kitchen. She wouldn't miss eating. She could settle for just pulling hair back and her bag was already waiting to be picked up, making food her number one priority. And feeding the dog as well, but that came after herself.

While she re-heated a soup she had found stuffed in the back of her fridge (which seemed to still be okay to eat), Haruhi slid her feet into her shoes. It probably wasn't necessary, but at least she could leave faster.

As the microwave dinged to signal the food was ready, Haruhi walked over to Antoinette's bowl and began scooping cups of the dog food from the bag next to it inside. She whistled and the large, golden dog came running down the stairs heading straight for the food. Haruhi went back to the microwave and pulled out her own breakfast, deciding at that moment to save having to wash an extra dish and began drinking the soup rather than using a spoon.

"All right, I'm leaving," Haruhi said to Antoinette, finishing her last sip and placing the bowl in the sink. She picked up her bag and the hair tie that usually sat next to it. She walked slowly to the door, elbows in the air, trying to pull her dark hair into a ponytail. Haruhi paused a moment to open the door, but finished the task before actually exiting.

"Bye!" she called to the dog, who made no response, but rather went on eating. Haruhi closed the door and almost skipped down the steps to the street.

I'm not going to think about it, I'm not going to think about, her mind repeated, It'll be like nothing even happened. Haruhi felt rather pleased with herself, feeling the removing of the memory she wished to not think about was going quite well. Until…

"Haru-chaaaaan!" Haruhi walked slower, thinking she had just hallucinated, but her name was called again in the same cutesy voice and she decided to look. Haruhi looked over her shoulder and saw Hunny leaning out the backseat window of what looked like a silver half a million dollar car. He was waving with a bright smile on his face. When the car reached Haruhi (in a matter of seconds, if that), the one driving began to drive at five miles an hour, attempting to move at the same speed of Haruhi's slowed pace. To save the driver trouble, Haruhi stopped walking. The car stopped with her.

"Haru-chan, Haru-chan, you should ride with us!" Hunny suggested cheerfully, the pink Hunny flowers filling the air.

"W-well, I have to go to work…" she pointed out, feeling a little bad for turning him down. She looked past him for a moment and saw Mori leaning forward a little to look back at her.

"Hi, Mori!" she greeted with a smile, waving to him, not at all tempted to use any title, which happened to make her even happier. He "waved" back before Hunny went on.

"We can take you there! And you won't be late, I promise," Hunny said sincerely, smiling brightly. Haruhi remembered the shoes she was wearing and figured it wouldn't hurt to drive with her friends and get to work earlier, when her other option was walk to work in high heels and be there just in time.

"Thanks, Hunny-chan, I'd love to," she paused and scolded herself quickly and quietly, "Is it okay if I call you that?" A little too late don't you think? Haruhi's thoughts asked sarcastically.

"Of course!" Hunny assured, opening the door for Haruhi and scooting over into the middle seat. After Haruhi had gotten in and closed the door, she leaned forward a little to see Mori better.

"And…Mori-kun?" she asked, feeling the two had always been a pair, why should one have a friendly title and one not?

"Yeah…" Mori said, nodding his head once. Haruhi smiled and leaned back.

"Um…Haru-chan?" Hunny asked after a little while. Haruhi turned to him, not expecting or even considering what he would ask next.

"Where…where do you work?" Hunny asked, tilting his head to the side. Part of Haruhi wanted to start laughing and the other part was frustrated she hadn't thought of that before.

"Actually, I'm a lawyer now, so I'm down at ci-" Haruhi started but was interrupted by Hunny.

"You're a lawyer?! Just like you wanted to be!" he cheered, giving Haruhi an awkward hug, considering their angle in the car.

"Good job…" Mori said quietly from the opposite end of the seat, looking at Haruhi with a faint half smile.

"Well now I know exactly where to take you!" Hunny exclaimed, bouncing back into the middle seat and out of the would-be hug.

"But, Hunny-chan…you're not driving…" Haruhi pointed out. She was more concerned about the driver knowing where to go than Hunny knowing. The eternally small boy just laughed and assured her that he (meaning the driver) knew too. How, Haruhi would never be sure of.

The car slowed to a stop in front of the white building. As Haruhi's hand slipped around the handle of the car door, both Hunny and Mori waved.

"Have a nice day at work Haru-chan!" Hunny called and the door closed. Haruhi waved back to the car as it drove away and turned at the next corner. She glanced at her watch. Ten minutes early. She wouldn't mind running into those two more often in the mornings.

* * *

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. Haruhi hadn't felt like this in years and of all times it had to catch up with her again, it had to be while she was in her office looking over a new case. She read and reread the words but couldn't seem to grasp it. Her mind kept drifting to the day before…To that moment in the doorway…Haruhi threw the papers down and grasped her head in one hand. She felt so dizzy. Everyone who had walked in her office had asked if she was feeling alright. Maybe it was a sign that she should go home and rest.

Trying one last time to comprehend the text on the papers in front of her, now scattered across the desk from their previous tossing, Haruhi sighed painfully and gathered them up neatly. Maybe she'd have better luck after a quick rest, and with everyone who looked at her worrying if she were sick or not, no one would be "upset" with her leaving early. She had been at work a few hours. She had held on for perhaps longer than she should have.

As Haruhi stood up to leave, the phone rang. Thinking there was no harm in answering it, she picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked, sounding ill though trying to sound perfectly healthy.

"Miss Fujioka, your client's on line two," Haruhi's secretary told her. It was obvious she felt bad for Haruhi by the tone of her voice, being one of the concerned people who questions Haruhi's health that day.

"All right, thank you," Haruhi said, pushing the thin button with the number two written beneath it on the phone cradle. She sat back in her chair, knowing she probably wouldn't be leaving until the end of the day.

* * *

No. Haruhi didn't leave until the work day was done. In fact, she had to stay late due to the repeated lengthy (and mostly unnecessary) phone calls her new client insisted on making. She was now exhausted and was suffering from perhaps the worst headache of her life. Sleep was the only thing on her mind at that point.

Trudging home, Haruhi wished the silver car from that morning would magically appear and give her a ride home, but it never came and Haruhi's feet ended up hurting worse than her head.

Haruhi turned the last corner, her house now in sight sitting just at the end of the block. She smiled in relief, hardly able to wait for a cozy bed and a really nice dinner. Haruhi had eaten such a quick and pathetic lunch because of the chain of calls. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until her home was visible.

Despite her unexpressed excitement at being able to relax, and eat, Haruhi stopped on her way to the kitchen, a red blinking light catching her eye. No one usually left messages on her home phone, they always seemed to be in a hurry to call her and went straight for the cell, but sure enough, there was a message waiting for her…eight messages.

Haruhi pressed the play button and let the machine tell her the time of the message.

"Ummm…." a barely audible voice whispered on the recorded message, before the click of the phone hanging up. The machine gave Haruhi the new message.

"Okay, so the last one didn't go so well…" Haruhi wondered why she felt surprised when she heard Tamaki's voice. It was clearly obvious that if he had her phone number, or anyone's for that matter, he would call it numerous times. They're probably all from him, Haruhi thought, laughing to herself. "But…" The click came again.

"This really is working out very well…So…." Click. Haruhi thought it had been amusing at first, but by the third, it was slightly frustrating. If all eight messages were like this, that is- if all of them belonged to him, Haruhi might have to ignore the last few. Though the next three were all similar to the first three, Haruhi didn't disregard them after all, curious to see if Tamaki ever said anything useful. The machine ran the final message. There a little pause.

"Okay, just meet me at the park later, okay? Around…" Haruhi heard mumbling, but could make out "get's home at" and "don't want to rush" so she figured he was finding a reasonable time to fit her schedule. "Eight…? If that's too early, or you don't want to, or anything like that, just call back, all right?" Click.

Haruhi looked at the clock. Because of those stupid phone calls in the office, she had stayed an hour later than usual, leaving her only an hour before she was supposed to go to the park.

"I have enough time to eat…" Haruhi thought aloud, "Yeah, I'll be all right. Eight it is." She threw her shoes off and finished her trek to the kitchen.

* * *

Remember: If you have anything you want to see or suggest, please tell me!! I really need it...Hopefully it will give me some ideas and put me back on the writing track and out of cursed writer's block! Thank you!


	12. Chapter 12

**Note from the Author:** Good news everyone! The next chapter is already underway! Actually, it was going to be apart of this one, but I thought it would be fun to stop where I did so...you have this to read. It won't be long until the next chapter is up. I promise! I'm already writing it! Remember, I could still use some help! I may have started moving out of writer's block, but I still have no idea how to end it, so any contribution will help tons! I feel the end near...but you never can tell, right? Thanks to Batsu Simisu-chan for helping me out of the painful writer's block! Because of you, I think I can right a steady two or three more chapters! Thanks for sparking some ideas (and this chapter)! :)

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

"Haruhi! What a surprise!"

Haruhi just stared. _When did he…?_ she began to think, but not even her thoughts could find the words. It's not like she wasn't happy to see him, she had just assumed…Haruhi's eyes shifted over to the blankly distraught Tamaki, who obviously had a similar, yet perhaps more dramatized, thought process to Haruhi's.

"Who would have thought all three of us would have come to this exact park at this exact time?"

"Um, Hikaru?" Haruhi asked, "Why are you…?"

"Here?" Hikaru finished, "Well that's a simple question to answer, Haruhi. I couldn't find you yesterday, so I'd thought I'd try today." Haruhi suddenly felt guilty. She had waited for him yesterday, but she hadn't really been looking for him…In fact, she thought it may have reached a point where she didn't want him to show up. She felt so evil…

"I'm so sorry," Haruhi apologized sincerely, "I waited for you, but I just couldn't find you. I feel horrible…" Hikaru smiled maliciously, though it was missing it's mirror. Seeing the devilish look in his face, Haruhi realized immediately she shouldn't have told him she felt bad about the day before. Now she was going to have to suffer the consequences.

"You wanna make it up to me?" Hikaru asked in a voice almost creepier than his smile.

"Now I'm not so sure…" Haruhi sighed.

"But you've left me in emotional distress. How am I supposed to know if we're friends or not, with you standing me up and avoiding favors…"

"Hey! You're not hurt at all! You were happy just a minute ago! You're just looking for an excuse to harass my wonderful daughter!" Tamaki yelled, snapping out of his empty shell. Haruhi shot him a cold look and he corrected himself once more out of fear. "Not daughter…my wonderful not daughter…" Haruhi rolled her eyes but felt content enough. At least he was learning…

"Do you have any right to talk?" Hikaru shot back at Tamaki, the moment he had seen between the two the day before flashing through his head again, "It's my turn for Haruhi. You can play with this until it's your turn." Hikaru handed Tamaki a little pink ball from his pocket and grabbed Haruhi.

"Hey! I'm not some kind of toy, you know! You don't get turns with me!" Haruhi defended, pulling her arm away from Hikaru, "Now I don't mind spending time with you, and I _do_ feel bad about yesterday, but you can't treat me like I'm inanimate." Hikaru still wasn't used to this reaction.

"Right…" he sighed, not liking the idea of being yelled at again, "I'm sorry." Haruhi hadn't even had the opportunity to react to this before. Hikaru? Apologizing? The years had gone by indeed.

"G-good," Haruhi said, unsure of what to really say, "Well, I had plans with Tamaki, so…could we all do something? You know, together?" Both Tamaki and Hikaru felt themselves get hit with lightning. That horrible lightning that only seems to appear when all your hopes and dreams were crushed smaller than dust and blown away in a demonic wind.

"S-sure…" they agreed, trying to smile at the idea.

"Great! I knew you guys wouldn't mind!" Haruhi smiled sweetly back, not noticing their half-hearted consent, "Well, come on, we should take a walk around. It's such a beautiful park. But you probably already noticed that." She laughed a little, though more for the idea that she need no longer be "stressed" at the idea of being alone with Tamaki again than anything else.

"Kay…" the two half-zombies said together, following Haruhi as she led the way. Hikaru glared at Tamaki from the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, thanks milord, ruin two days I have with Haruhi," he whispered viciously.

"I didn't…" Tamaki weakly defended. He paused a moment before realizing… "Hey wait! I was the one who was-"

"Shut up," Hikaru interrupted. He smiled the "twin" smile again. "Haruhi! I'm so hungry! Let's go look for something to eat!" He walked almost at a run, and grabbed Haruhi's hand, leading her quickly away from Tamaki.

"Uh, okay…" Haruhi agreed with no choice, as she was already in motion, "But do we really need to walk so fast?"

"Yup! I'm _starving_! I may die if I don't get food soon!" Hikaru cheered, looking far from being even remotely famished.

"Uh-huh…" Haruhi said, not convinced in the least. It wasn't a very convincing act, "Hikaru? Do you just want to get away from Tamaki?" Hikaru stopped short in his running, falling to ground- bringing Haruhi with him.

"And…why would you say that?" he asked nervously, quickly sitting up and looking in the direction they had come, in case he felt the need to keep running, but it appeared as though Tamaki hadn't moved an inch since his "escape" so all was well.

"Well, the park is empty…I give the sun another ten minutes before it's completely vanished, and when _you're_ hungry, you go limp- you wouldn't have the energy to run like that. It's kind of obvious," Haruhi pointed out, "Besides, you were giving off a horrible aura, actually, both of you were, but-" Haruhi was interrupted, but not by words. She felt her breath cut short and her heart skip a beat as she felt Hikaru's lips pressed against hers. Her cheeks burned bright pink as she frantically thought of what to do. Haruhi was sure of the conclusion she had come to that previous night, but…the kiss was so sweet…In the end, Hikaru was the one to pull away from the frozen Haruhi.

"I love you," he said plainly, "I don't want to have to share you. I want to spend every moment with you because it hurts when I'm not around you." Haruhi felt the ice surrounding her grow thicker. "I need you, Haruhi. I'm in love with you."

Somewhere not far away, Haruhi thought she heard Tamaki having a heart attack.

* * *

Once again, I'm still taking ideas and suggestions to help me get to the end! I don't think there's much left in the story, so this is where I'll be struggling the most! Any help is appreciated, hehe...Thank you!


	13. Chapter 13

**Note from the Author:** Yeah, it's another one of those really fast three-part chapters, but it helped pull me a little further into the story, so you should be grateful for it too. :) Once again, the next chapter is underway, though it may take a little longer. I have a feeling the next one will be a longer one, so if I could have just a bit more of your patience...

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

"Really, Tamaki, how long do you plan on staying like that?" Kyouya asked, "It has to be a strain on your neck." Tamaki didn't say anything, but continued to hold his knees to his chest and lean his head back until it touched the wall. Unfortunately, he hadn't sat very close to the wall, so it was a long journey for his head, and a long stretch for his neck.

"You know I can't sympathize with you if you don't tell me what happened, right?" Kyouya went on, becoming just concerned enough to push his computer away.

"Sh-she…" Tamaki tried to explain, but his mouth was having trouble moving, "Left…"

"I assume you mean Haruhi? Well, that's really nothing to mope over. You must have known she'd leave at some point in the day."

"But…Hikaru…" Tamaki whined. Kyouya froze. If he had been typing, there would be no doubt, a key would have flung off. A spark of barely visible rage shot through him. Tamaki was whining. Hikaru was mentioned. It could only mean one thing….Kaoru was winning.

"What _about _Hikaru?" he asked, not afraid to let his evil side show through in his voice.

"Haruhi…Hikaru…" Tamaki whined once more. Kyouya stood up slowly.

"You don't need to say anymore," he told the lifeless Tamaki, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment I need to arrange." Tamaki groaned a sound of goodbye, and fell over onto the floor.

* * *

Kaoru had never shouted so loud in his life. His throat almost gave out from the constant cheering- unfamiliar with the tone.

"There's nothing to cheer about!" Hikaru yelled back, but not in the same joyous way Kaoru was yelling.

"What are you talking about, Hikaru?! Of _course_ there's reason to cheer! The most _wonderful_ thing has happened today! _You_ actually _kissed_ Haruhi!" Kaoru laughed in triumph, dancing merrily around the room.

"Yeah, but didn't you hear what I said _after_ that?" Hikaru was beginning to wonder if he should tell his brother these sorts of things anymore. But when he didn't, nothing good ever came of the matter.

"Why would I? I've heard everything I needed to hear!"

"No! No, you didn't! Aren't you forgetting something very important?" Hikaru asked, which at last stopped Kaoru's ridiculous skipping.

"Don't think so…" the younger twin said, thinking for a moment.

"Well, you are," Hikaru pointed out, "_Haruhi's_ reaction to all this." Kaoru gave his brother a "you're-an-idiot" look.

"I don't care," he said plainly, though his fun had been ruined by Hikaru's apparently "stupid" comment, which wasn't needed for Kaoru. Details would only get in the way of the beautiful story.

"What do you mean you don't care?! You _should_ care!" Hikaru yelled, his quickly raised blood pressure staying true to its usual self, "That's the most important part of this all! It means _I _did something stupid! You can't celebrate an idiot's actions!"

"No denying you're an idiot, but confessing to Haruhi was _not_ stupid," Kaoru sang. _I'm in the lead,_ his thoughts mimicked his voice as he thought of Kyouya's foiled plans.

"Yes it was!" Hikaru pushed, "I think…I think she rejected me…"

"What do you mean 'you think'?" Kaoru asked, "She either did or didn't."

"No…she didn't," Hikaru went on to explain, "She just…left. That's it. She just went home. And that was that."

"She…what?" Kaoru was now to busy trying to undo confusion to further pursue any means of dancing- which may have led to his ultimate destruction.

* * *

Haruhi tossed the phone across her bedroom, just hanging up after a long and somewhat heated conversation (or debate) with her dad. She stuffed her face into her pillow and sighed with much difficulty.

"I can't believe I just left…" she moaned, inaudible to the world around her, as her words were muffled by a soft, comfy mound. Indeed, Haruhi had said nothing after the kiss. She had just stood up…and walked away. Not only did she feel like an idiot now, but she had left a poor soul only a few feet away to die as his heart stopped beating. It had been the stupidest thing Haruhi had done in years. Well…maybe.

"Why…?" was the only word that could escape her mouth. She had nothing more to say. That was it. A one-word question that really couldn't be answered.

Antoinette had run off after the tossing off the phone, leaving Haruhi completely alone- a feeling she didn't like, thus she bought the dog (which wasn't living up to her expectations at that moment). She was left by herself to think…and think…and think, hoping the next day would come soon, allowing her to wake up and forget the whole thing.

"Maybe I should stay away from that park…" Haruhi suggested to herself, "It's bad luck…" And the bad luck was only increasing. It took no more than ten minutes for Haruhi to drop back into a miserable confusion, and she didn't know how much more of these headaches she could take- on top of that ridiculous client she knew she would have to talk to the coming morning. It would be the death of her…

"I just want to sleep!" Haruhi complained, flipping over, so she could breath easier. It was earlier in the night, but if Haruhi slept, she wouldn't have to think about who she really wanted on the other end of that kiss.

* * *

Kay, you've gotta be sick of hearing this, but I still need suggestions and stuff. In response to a question I was asked, I don't even really know who the "final couple" will end up being, so go ahead and tell me what you want to see! I know I'll eventually figure this out, but hearing ideas and such always seems to help pull me along, even if I don't end up using them, haha. Anything helps! Thank you!


	14. Chapter 14

**Note from the Author:** Yes! Two chapters in one day! I was sure it would take longer than that, but apparently I have horrible judgment. Well, here's the new chapter (obviously) and I think the next one will indeed take a while simply because I _haven't_ started it, and I'm not really sure where to begin...I hope this doesn't mean I'm back into an evil _evil_ writer's block, because I just started getting out of the evil one...hmm. Only time will tell, I suppose. Now, you can interpret this chapter how you wish, but I just had fun with it. Go ahead and think what you will, I won't say any more than that, so I don't give away the chapter, but I just...yeah, I guess I can't really say my "excuse" or I'll give away what you're about to read...

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

Haruhi smiled to herself as she walked home from work. Her client had finally started to comprehend the situation she was in, she hadn't gotten a single idiotic phone call that day (at least, yet), and no one from the host club had shown up at all. Yup. It was looking up to be a much brighter day than the one before. She could pretend she had never gotten into the whole mess of her past- at least for today. She could just relax…let her mind calm down. She would deal with it again. After all, she had to. But Haruhi wanted to push that day away for as long as she could.

Haruhi sighed in relief, at the very thought of being able to be stress-free that night, until she turned the final corner. She could see a figure leaning against the wall around her house, and as she drew closer, she knew exactly who it was. Standing only a few yards away now, it was obvious. The look of complete confidence glued to his face. The "I'm-better-than-you" aura. The girl who mouthed the words "oh my God" as she stared at him in awe. Yes. Haruhi knew without a doubt- it was Kyouya.

"Ah, Haruhi, there you are," he said, removing himself from the wall, to stand up straight. Haruhi stared at him in wonder.

"That's it?" she asked, "We haven't seen each other in ten years and that's all you have to say…? Not 'hi' or 'how've you been'? Nothing like that?"

"Well, I don't see why I should, after all, I believe I've been keeping well up to date with your activities. For the most part anyway," Kyouya informed her, leaving poor Haruhi a little frightened, "Which reminds me, I'm terribly sorry about that fall semester your junior year of college. Tragic." Haruhi took a moment to remember what he was talking about before freezing up.

"H-how did you know about that?" she stuttered, trembling furiously. If _he_ knew, how many others knew too…?

"Oh, I have my sources," he finished, fixing his glasses to add to the "knowing" look, "Now, I hope I'm not intruding on anything, but I have important matters to discuss with you."

"I guess you're not…not really…but…" Haruhi started quietly, not wanting to sound rude, but the bad feeling in her gut told her talking to Kyouya about "important matters" is exactly what she had been hoping to avoid that day.

"Good," Kyouya cut her off, "May I?" He nodded towards the house.

"Of course…of course…" Haruhi sighed, walking up to the door first to unlock it, "Make yourself at home…" Her lack of enthusiasm was apparent but it didn't seem to bother Kyouya. As long as he finished whatever business he needed to attend to, it seemed he was satisfied.

Haruhi walked in first, just to hint to him once more that she didn't really want visitors that day- even if it was a friend who _she_ hadn't seen or been in contact with for ten years- though, apparently, _he_ had. It still greatly confused and horrified Haruhi.

"Have a seat," Haruhi said, forgetting any welcoming emotion, throwing a hand towards the couch, "So what did you need to talk to me about?"

"I've heard about a recent interaction between you and Hikaru-" Kyouya began, but Haruhi's sudden, fearful yelling interrupted him.

"You heard about the kiss?! How much of my life do you know?!" she shouted, the trembling returning.

"Actually, I _didn't_ know about it," Kyouya informed plainly, taking the seat offered to him, "But thank you for telling me. It makes things much easier." Haruhi wanted to collapse right there on the floor- halfway to the couch. Her knees were about ready to give out, but she held strong till the end and settled with falling back onto the opposite end of the couch from where Kyouya was sitting.

"In regards to this event," he went on, "I'm afraid I wasn't able to catch your reaction to this when being told."

"You came to visit me just for that…?" Haruhi asked, nearing shock. She should've known it would be for something like that. Tamaki saw the whole thing. Tamaki knew Kyouya. Tamaki _talked_ to Kyouya. Of course the infamous Shadow King would find out- some way or the other, and of course he would be here to discuss something ridiculous like that with her.

"Of course," Kyouya stated, flicking his eyes around the room, perhaps the only sign that he was even a little interested in Haruhi's life now, "It's in everyone's best interest to know how you feel towards Hikaru and his confession. Particularly mine."

"How does this concern you at all?!" Haruhi almost yelled, but was too exhausted to raise her voice to "maximum power." Kyouya stayed silent, waiting for an answer. Haruhi sighed and leaned her head back.

"How many people find out if I tell you?" she asked.

"Is it really something that needs to remain hidden?"

"Right now, yes. I still need to think it over."

"All right. It stays with me alone until you tell someone else."

Haruhi thought it over before agreeing somewhat reluctantly. Of course Kyouya was going to turn it into a deal of some kind, this was probably the best offer she was going to get.

"I have one condition, though," Haruhi added, catching Kyouya's interest, "You need to tell me why you want to know. Because to be honest, it's a little weird…"

"Fair enough," Kyouya agreed, "You can say it's for a war I can't lose. You know how it goes, I presume. The side with the most information wins, correct?" Haruhi was left only more confused, but, once again, it was probably the best she was going to get for that moment.

"Well…" Haruhi began with hesitation, buying herself some time, "I…I'm not sure, really. About I feel. I…I think…I think I would accept Hikaru if…if I had never…" Kyouya glanced her way.

"If you had never…?" he repeated, becoming more intrigued and subtly excited with each word.

"If I had never…met Tamaki…" Haruhi finished, feeling her heart start to race as she said the name, "Hikaru's a really wonderful friend, but I just…I want him to be just that. A friend…" A smirk crossed Kyouya's shadowy face. He laughed softly, yet viciously. Haruhi would have felt a bit creeped out, but it was such a familiar feeling, it only made her smile now.

"There…is that what you were looking for?" she asked, looking over to the other end of the couch. She was shaking a little, unused to the feeling of sharing such emotions with others.

"It's _exactly_ what I was looking for, thank you," Kyouya said, giving Haruhi a less malicious and actually borderline sweet smile.

"It feels kinda weird- you thanking me," Haruhi laughed, "It's not really something to be thanked for."

"Ah, but you don't understand the situation I'm in," Kyouya explained, "You have given me a great advantage. I am now confident I will win."

"Kay, that's not fair," Haruhi fought, "You need to tell me what this 'war' is. I told you thoughts my _dad_ doesn't even know yet, I think you could have the courtesy to tell me what this ridiculous 'battle' you're fighting is all about and who it's against." Kyouya pretended to think it over, but his quick rejection made it rather obvious he hadn't thought anything over.

"Well, I suppose I need to be on my way now," he began, preparing to stand up, but was stopped by a picture on the table Haruhi had left sitting out.

"What?" Haruhi asked in confusion, wondering why he had stopped moving.

"Nothing, I just got a little distracted that's all."

"Were you looking at that picture?" Haruhi's voice suddenly leaped from hesitant and shaky to cheerful and nostalgic. "That was on our website wasn't it? That semester we tried to continue the Host Club without Mori and Hunny?"

"I should've known better than to try something like that," Kyouya sighed, "We lost a good amount of the customers due to their loss. Not only _their_ customers either, their friends stopped attending as well. Really, I shouldn't have tried it."

"Well, they told us to right?" Haruhi said, trying to remember clearly, "It's not _your _fault that semester didn't work out. They were high school girls. Their behavior is unpredictable. I'd like to say I was one, but-" Haruhi laughed sheepishly. "-I'm not sure if I really count." Kyouya smiled almost invisibly before finishing what he began a brief conversation before and stood up.

"I don't want to trouble you any longer-" he started, but before the goodbye was finished, Haruhi jumped up, that happy expression still on her face, ready for more memories.

"Wait! Before you go, you _have_ to see this picture I have! I just found this whole stack of pictures from Hunny and Mori's graduation week, and I found this one of-" Haruhi couldn't finish. A fit of childish laughter stopped her words as she reached for the box she had tripped over only a few days before. Kyouya let the invisible smile become noticeable and went over to where Haruhi was sitting on the floor, kneeling down next to her.

"I don't believe you ever finished telling me what the picture was of?" he asked, still trying to sound professional behind his obvious excitement for reminiscing.

"Oh, right, well," Haruhi began with a playful tone, "It's actually this hilarious one of you. I don't think I've ever seen you look so ridiculous…" She trailed off as she started laughing again. Her hands dug through the box of pictures, with Kyouya occasionally picking one up to ask her "why she had a picture like that", "who took this", or questions of that sort. It took no more than three pictures to have him laughing almost as loudly as Haruhi.

* * *

Yup, here I am once again, asking for suggestions, ideas- you know, anything you want to read. I'm starting to get to the point where I write things like this because I can't write an _entire_ chapter that really furthers the main plot and, to be honest, I'd like to finish this baby! Woot! I can feel the end near (as I've said before) but I can't actually get there. Kinda like when you turn your light off at night, but your bed's all the way across the room and you realize "crap...I can't see where it is now..."... ...yeah...kinda like that...


	15. Chapter 15

**Note from the Author:** Yeah, it's shorter, but it was kind of an experimental chapter, thanks to Batsu Simisu-chan (again, haha). I wanted to see if I liked the idea given to me, and if I could work with it, that's why you're getting this short little fella. It still ties in with the plot, of course, but it's just...a filler? No...fillers are stupid and don't do anything for the story...and I _really_ hope that's not what this is. Oh...I would be so crushed...if any of you think that, tell me, and I won't write anything like this again!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

Tamaki paced the floor of the black room, waiting for the door to open. His fingers fiddled with each other behind his back as he moved back and forth, almost carving a line into the floorboards.

The door opened.

The light turned on.

"What are you still doing here?" Kyouya asked offensively. He shouldn't have been surprised, but, all the same, he was. Maybe it was the time of night. Maybe it was just the look on Tamaki's face- as though he was supposed to be standing by Kyouya's front door.

"Where have you been?" Tamaki shot, ignoring Kyouya's question, which made much more sense than his own, "You left at 6:30 and now it's…" He looked over at the clock. "…almost one in the morning! You told me you would only be a few minutes! Oh, why must you lie to me?" Tamaki drooped his head and got ready to fall to the floor. "I didn't even know where you were."

"I told you I had important business to take care of," Kyouya told the distraught little boy, "I had things arranged yesterday so I would be able to leave today. You should remember things like that." He waited a moment. "Most importantly, you should probably get out of my house."

"No! You left me here all alone, waiting for your return, and now, as your punishment, I shall not leave this spot until you sincerely apologize for making me worry as I did!" Tamaki shouted, pointing a not-so-threatening finger at the owner of the house.

"I don't see why I need to at all," Kyouya said with a small shrug, "It's my home and you're invading. I don't see why you didn't just leave. It really doesn't make sense that you would stay for so long. In my own home, too. Without me there, it seems almost as frightening as the phone-"

"Don't say it," Tamaki warned.

"If you know what I'm going to say, I don't see the harm in finishing my sentence. Now I really think you should leave."

"You don't understand! When a person says something so horrid, it hurts much, much worse than simply knowing what was going to be said," Tamaki explained, sounding hurt, in order to emphasize his point.

"Leave," Kyouya ordered again, but was ignored…again.

"As you have already hurt me by keeping me here until your return, you have no right to say anything more to penetrate my poor soul-"

"Staying here was your decision."

"My feelings have been scarred. Tarnished-"

"Do you realize what time it is?"

"Yes! I do!" Tamaki shouted, suddenly deciding to listen, "_That's_ what I've been trying to tell _you_! It's late! You were _not_ just out in some meeting! Don't try giving me that excuse!"

"I never did," Kyouya pointed out, "I said I had an appointment, not a meeting."

"They're the same thing!"

"No, actually, they can be quite the opposite."

"Where were you?!" Tamaki asked again, loudly as to cut off Kyouya's explanation of the differences between "appointments" and "meetings".

"I was in a meeting," Kyouya responded, giving in to the interrogation.

"With who?!"

"Haruhi."

The simple answer made Tamaki revert back to his droop, only he fell to the ground this time.

"And you didn't let me come with you…?" he whined.

"Of course not. I had important business to discuss with her. You would have only gotten in the way," Kyouya said with no mercy, stabbing Tamaki through his poor, overdramatic heart.

"But…I want to see her…you're so mean…" Tamaki let himself lay on the floor, starting to feel the night get to him.

"You're not the only one," Kyouya said quietly. Tamaki looked up, asking him to repeat with a small "hmm".

"Nothing," Kyouya said in response to the noise, "I just don't see the harm in letting myself visit Haruhi, knowing everyone else has. Besides, I had matters to discuss with her, as I have told you an unbelievable amount of times in the past five or so minutes."

"I guess you're right…" Tamaki sighed, "She probably doesn't want to see me anyway." Kyouya thought it was odd that he didn't have the urge to hold back a knowing smile. In fact, he kind of…_liked_ the idea of Tamaki being away from her…

"I'm sure that's not the case at all," said the half of him that still laughed evilly inside whenever he heard there had been more progression in the relationship between Haruhi and Tamaki.

"No…why would she want to see _me_…She's probably more interested in seeing Hikaru right now…" Tamaki moped further.

"You're being ridiculous," Kyouya informed the idiot laying at his feet, "It's probably from lack of sleep, as though it would make any difference. Really, you should go home now."

"I can't move…" Tamaki said, laying rigid to prove his point, "See? I'm stuck here…"

"Move."

"Just let me sleep right here."

"Sleeping on the floor will leave you sore in the morning. I don't want to hear you complaining first thing in the morning."

"I won't complain."

"Leave."

"I can't! I'm stuck!"

"Now."

"I'm too tired!" Tamaki sat up, throwing his fists on the ground like a pouting child. It was a poor way to argue- particularly in this debate. He had lost by moving his body.

"Go home," Kyouya ordered. He felt horrible for thinking it, but Tamaki was the last person he wanted to see at that moment. Tamaki only reminded him of what little chance he had of making every night like the one he had just had.

* * *

Suggestions, anyone? I'm kinda desperate, though I'm getting a bit of help from a certain someone. You should _definitely _know who you are. I've told you in the author notes twice, haha...That aside, if anyone has anything they want to see or suggest, please- I could really use it. It shouldn't be long before I can do this on my own, but I have trouble with stories if I try to "carry them long distances"...Thank you!


	16. Chapter 16

**Note from the Author: **Here it is. The start of the chain to the end. It feels so sad, but I'm already three-fourths of the way through the next chapter, and, well, I'm wrapping things up. You've probably already guessed that I'm out of my writer's block. Believe it or not, I was serving sandwiches at work when it came to me. Strange inspiration, huh? I must really love food, haha. Well, you can still send any suggestions if you want and I'll see if I can throw it in, but I don't actually need any to keep writing. I'm so happy! I've got the entire end planned out in my head. Oh, but, yeah, here's the next chapter (before I start ranting too much, hehe)! I shan't reveal how many are left, but...cough Enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

It was so…big. Haruhi didn't think she could ever get used to these massive estates…one of five at the least. Somehow standing in front of the mansion made her feel so much more insecure about herself…and definitely less confident than she had been leaving her own home.

Haruhi took a deep breath in. She had to do this. _She _had been the one to ask to see him in person. _She_ was the one with the answer. Multi-millionaire or not, Hikaru was still Hikaru, and that should be enough to bring her confidence back up to its usual standing.

Her finger moved slowly to the black button sitting above a speaker. Letting her breath out, Haruhi pushed it. There was a small buzz, and an unfamiliar voice answered.

"How may I help you, ma'am?" the man asked, as though he had rehearsed the line many times before.

"I-I'm here to see Hikaru Hitachiin…" Haruhi answered back, pushing her finger against the button again- assuming that's how she was going to be heard.

"Miss Haruhi, I assume?"

"Y-yes."

"Ah yes, the master has been waiting for you." The gate opened. Haruhi felt a small need to laugh at the idea of the reckless and childish Hikaru being referred to as a "master" of anything, but she held it in.

Haruhi walked down the cobblestone path, feeling as though she had stepped into some modernized version of the past, looking around at all the early 19th century influenced decorations for the…yard- if it could be called that. It felt half a mile long. When she reached the steps up to the main door almost three times taller than her, the massive right door swung open. It looked as though Haruhi wasn't going to have to touch anything during her visit…

Entering the cooled mansion, Haruhi made sure to thank the man who had opened the door. It had to be a challenge opening a door like _that_. Haruhi was rather impressed more than she was of the ceiling barely visible above her head, the large curling staircase, or the hallways to either side of her that seemed to go on forever. She craned her neck to be sure she saw everything.

"Haruhi!"

Haruhi's neck snapped down and to the bottom of the staircase where she saw the mirror image of Hikaru- only somehow this reflection seemed a lot…nicer, just by looking at him.

"Kaoru!" she said, almost cheering the name, "It's so nice to see you."

"Yeah, same to you. It feels like it's been forever, huh?" Kaoru returned casually, smiling unbelievably brightly. It was obvious he had heard about what had happened, and it was obvious he was eagerly awaiting Haruhi's answer. Probably more than Hikaru was.

"Hikaru's upstairs, third door on the right side. Up that way," instructed Kaoru, pointing up the stairs he had just come down from.

"Th-thanks," Haruhi said, trying really hard to remember to breath. She was nervous…really nervous. She walked past Kaoru, shaking so hard, she was worried her trembling could be heard by everyone in the entire house.

_Okay, Haruhi, you can do this,_ her thoughts encouraged, as she turned left- the only way she could -at the top of the stairs, _It's not that hard. You just have to say what you came here to say, and that's that. _The third door on the right came into view. Suddenly Haruhi's thoughts changed. _Why didn't he just come down to see me instead of waiting up here? Does he even know I'm here?_ She knocked on the door.

"God, Kaoru, when I say leave me alone, I mean it! I don't care what you think she's-" Hikaru yelled, as he walked to the entrance, stopping in mid-sentence when he actually opened the door. Haruhi waved.

"Shit, you're here…" Hikaru said quietly, staring in horror. _Guess that answers my question, _Haruhi answered herself.

"Hi…Kaoru told me to come up…" she explained to the near-traumatized Hikaru. It was quite apparent he hadn't expected her to come right after they got off the phone. Especially when Haruhi hadn't said a word to him for five days since the night at the park. She had kept telling herself she would talk to him "tomorrow" but there are so many tomorrow's in the world, it's hard to choose which one is best.

"That bastard…" Hikaru mumbled under his breath, grateful Haruhi hadn't heard him, "Uh, you can come in if you want, but that might be a little weird…um, give me a second, and we can go outside, kay?" The door closed without any response from Haruhi, leaving her alone in the poorly lit hallway.

The door reopened in the span of only a few minutes, after many unexplainable clatters from inside the room and one very loud "dammit" from Hikaru ceased, letting more light flow into the hallway, until the door was once again closed, with Hikaru on Haruhi's side this time. Haruhi couldn't figure out what it was, but something about Hikaru seemed a lot neater than when he had made his first appearance that day.

Both walked down the stairs in silence, Haruhi staying just barely behind Hikaru. She didn't want to be stuck in the "leading" position when she had no idea where she was going.

"So…" Hikaru sighed, opening a glass door by the stairs, leading to a classic courtyard which left Haruhi almost entirely in awe. The determination to say what she needed to say kept her properly functioning.

"O-oh, um…" Haruhi started, snapping out of her thoughts, "I…I'm sorry I just…"

"Walked away and left me in the dark for almost a week?" Hikaru asked coldly, though trying his hardest to sound nonchalant about the matter.

"Yeah…that…" Haruhi said just as coldly, not bothering to hide it, "Did you have to say it like that though? I mean, you just went ahead and kissed me without even asking how I felt about you." It was Hikaru's turn to be shot.

"I poured my freakin' heart out to you! You could be a little nicer about it!" he snapped. Haruhi sighed with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm not here to argue about who should be nice about what…" she said through her sigh, "I came here…to tell you how I feel. Though I don't exactly _approve_ of your version of a confession, you have a right to know how I feel…about you."

"Duh," Hikaru mumbled under his breath despite his anxiety for Haruhi to continue.

"I…I'm sorry, Hikaru…" Haruhi apologized quietly, focusing her eyes on her feet. Both kept walking down the small path. Hikaru was silent for a little while.

"Not even a chance?" he finally asked. Haruhi tried to smile up at him, removing her eyes from staring intently at the moving ground.

"I wouldn't say _that_," Haruhi assured, only half falsely, "I mean, maybe one day…but right now…there's someone else." Hikaru sighed lightheartedly.

"I should have known," he said, doing his best to wear his devilish smile, "You only like the idiots." Haruhi blushed a little, knowing _exactly_ what he meant. She got ready to protest but realized she had nothing to say in her defense. It would all have been a lie.

"Well, you could have told me _before_ I kissed you, you know," Hikaru pointed out, as though it should have been a completely obvious solution.

"You didn't let me!" Haruhi fought, "How was I supposed to know how you felt about me?" Hikaru looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Come on Haruhi, can you really be that dense? Even I thought I was obvious," he told Haruhi, turning her pink cheeks a little redder.

"Shut up," she ordered with no force whatsoever. Hikaru laughed a little.

"You shouldn't have told me I could have a chance," he said confidently, "I'm not giving up that easily, you know." He smiled at Haruhi.

"I guess it's better than not seeing you at all," Haruhi shrugged, smiling back, "You're one of my best friends, Hikaru. The problem is, you _only_ feel like my best friend."

"You don't have to rub it in my face…" Hikaru shot weakly.

"Right…sorry," Haruhi apologized with as little strength as Hikaru had used, but both of them felt strangely happy with their outcome.

* * *

"So?" Kaoru pushed after Haruhi had left and Hikaru was trekking back up the stairs, "What did she say?"

"Can't you guess?" Hikaru asked, giving his brother a sad half-smile.

"I guess I don't want to," Kaoru said, knowing Haruhi's answer from the minute she stepped in the door. If she had been in love with Hikaru too, she wouldn't have had such a gloomy aura around her as she walked up the stairs. And it was pretty obvious after she and Hikaru had talked or they wouldn't have left each other looking the way they had.

"Oh well…I either have to try harder or it just wasn't supposed to happen," Hikaru sighed, shrugging it off as best he could, "She and milord looked better together anyway."

"Not true!" Kaoru shouted, "Don't speak such blasphemy!" He ran the few steps he had to take to catch up to Hikaru, who was now turning the corner at the top of the stairs.

"Come on, Kaoru," Hikaru pressed, "Think about it. I'm right." Kaoru didn't argue, though he had so many things he wanted to shoot back.

"It's probably for the best anyway," Hikaru said again.

"Yeah…" Kaoru agreed not-so reluctantly, "You're probably right."


	17. Chapter 17

**Note from the Author:** Told you I was almost done with this chapter. Two in a day! And I'll probably have more tomorrow. Wow, it feels good to be out of writer's block...It's so relieving! I think I need a party for this. Yeah, I'm gonna go make a cake...

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

Haruhi felt like she had been sitting in the taxi forever by the time she finally got home. It was only ten in the morning, but she wanted to sleep. As she paid the taxi driver, her mind scolded her want of more rest. _You can't sleep whenever you need to do something. It's not a good habit, _she told herself.

Despite her common sense speaking to her, Haruhi trudged up her much smaller staircase than the one she had climbed at the twins' home, and crawled onto her bed. Antoinette was laying in the corner, staring at the exhausted Haruhi with its ears perked up. Haruhi whistled and the dog shot over to the side of the bed, where Haruhi scratched her behind the ears.

Haruhi let out a long, deep breath.

"Just one thing left to do," she whispered to herself. The sound of the doorbell echoed throughout the house, interrupting Haruhi's attempt at relaxation. She sat up and slid off the bed, leaving Antoinette to trot back to her corner and curl up again.

"Coming!" Haruhi called, walking down the stairs, to let her visitor know she had heard them. She automatically knew it wasn't Tamaki, or there would have been five more rings before she reached the final stair. _Thank God…_she thought in relief. Haruhi knew it wasn't the best way to go about things, but she was going to talk to Tamaki when she felt it was best. She would prefer if _he_ didn't come to _her_…

"Hi!" Haruhi happily greeted as she opened the front door to reveal Kyouya standing somewhat awkwardly in front of her, "What brings you here?"

"I just found something yesterday and thought it might be of interest to you," Kyouya said quickly without any returned greeting.

"Really? I want to see it," Haruhi excitedly declared, " Come on in. It's been a while since your last visit."

"Yes, I've been preoccupied. I didn't think it would concern you that much if I was absent for a few days," Kyouya pointed out, walking inside.

"You can go sit down," Haruhi told him, motioning to the couch, when she noticed he was just standing in the entryway, "And why wouldn't I mind? You're one of the few people I can talk to _without_ needing to talk about my 'love life' which seems to interest everyone else around me…At least, lately anyway."

"You seem to be forgetting the reason for my last visit," Kyouya remarked, taking his seat on the couch.

"Yeah, but that doesn't really count because we only talked about it for a minute. It wasn't very long," Haruhi argued lightly as she sat down on the opposite side of the couch from Kyouya. It seemed as though their "seating arrangement" would become some kind of habit whenever he came over to visit.

"So what did you want to show me?" Haruhi asked. Her bright eyes locked onto Kyouya with curiosity. After their last nostalgic visit, Haruhi wouldn't have minded as much as she could get, and she had a feeling this had to do with their past as well.

"I found my old notebook," Kyouya said, lifting up a thin black book, "Most of it's how you paid off your debt. I thought you might want to see how many customers you attracted per day, on average. I was rather impressed myself, when I looked through it yesterday." He handed the notebook over to Haruhi, who took it with a large smile. She had gone her entire host days without knowing. As she flipped through the pages of the notebook, she could hardly make sense of some of the equations used, but she could see…all the people…who requested her…She looked at each page carefully, discovering each hosts number of average customers for each week were listed.

"Oh my God!" Haruhi shouted, bringing her face closer to the notebook, being sure she was reading it right, "I almost had as many as Tamaki!"

"It would explain your debts quick disappearance," Kyouya pointed out while adjusting his glasses, "I couldn't remember that detail during my last visit, but I assumed you would like to know, so-"

"You don't need an excuse to come here, Kyouya," Haruhi interrupted, "You can just come over whenever for whatever. I really don't mind. It would be nice to have a little less dramatic company." She laughed softly, eyes still scanning the notebook. "You were smarter than I thought…I don't understand most of this _now_. I can't imagine what it would have been like if I had seen this back in high school…"

"It's actually q-quite simple," Kyouya said, quickly regaining himself from Haruhi's interruption, but still a little taken aback. Haruhi's eyes moved from the nonsensical notebook to Kyouya.

"Did you just stutter?" she asked in shock.

"I don't believe so. You must be mistaken," Kyouya defended, refusing to look in her direction.

"No, you did. I don't think I've ever heard you stutter before…That's amazing." Haruhi returned most of her attention to the notebook.

The doorbell rang again. Haruhi snapped her head to the door.

"One sec," she told Kyouya as she stood up, setting the open notebook on the coffee table in front of them.

Haruhi had barely opened the door before she was tackled to the floor.

"Haru-chan, we're leaving today!" whined Hunny as he knocked Haruhi to the floor, "We'll try to visit, but we have to go home today!"

"That's really sad, Hunny-chan, but…do you think you can get off of me?" Haruhi asked. She wanted to sound sympathetic, especially because she regretted not spending more time with either Hunny or Mori, but she couldn't breathe.

"Oh, sorry…" Hunny stood up and moved aside so Haruhi could stand up.

"Hey, Mori-kun, how are you?" Haruhi asked sweetly as she got to her feet, seeing him standing outside behind Hunny.

"Good," he answered quietly, "You?"

"I'm great, thanks!" Haruhi answered back, stretching the truth a little to make a better answer. She wished she could be great, but maybe if she just told someone at that moment, she could believe it until it were true.

"You guys can come in if you want," Haruhi offered, though Hunny was already standing inside, "Kyouya's here, but-" Haruhi never finished her sentence as Hunny shouted "Kyou-chan!" and ran to the couch. Mori walked in, saying "Mitsukuni…you'll hurt him." From the grip Hunny had around Kyouya, it very well may have killed him, though Hunny would have believed he was just giving a hug to an old friend.

Kyouya stood up.

"It's good to see you too," he said plainly, his voice not matching his words at all, "It's been a while hasn't it?"

"Yeah! It's really sad! I miss you guys," Hunny declared mournfully while Mori just nodded, "And it doesn't help that we're leaving today, too. We're going back home today."

"And where is home for you two?" Kyouya asked, saving Haruhi the trouble of asking them herself.

"Hokkaido!" Hunny cheered, "I live in Obihiro."

"Kushiro," Mori said, leaving Haruhi and Kyouya to assume he meant that's where he lived.

"Yeah, but we visit each other a lot, though we're kinda far away. It's not too bad though, right?" Hunny asked without expecting an answer.

"Mitsukuni…" Mori said, lifting his arm out as he had done in the park the previous week. Hunny leaned over and looked at the watch on Mori's wrist, releasing a small scream.

"We're going to miss our flight if we don't hurry, but don't forget to call okay? Both of you!" Hunny ordered, quickly reaching into his pocket and finding a small piece of paper. Haruhi handed him a pen so he could write his number on it.

"Here's Takeshi's too!" Hunny said, almost cheering, turning over the paper and writing another number down. He handed the paper to Haruhi. "Give it to Kyou-chan too! And Tama-chan! And Hika-chan and Kao-chan! We want to talk to all of you, kay?" Mori nodded in agreement.

"Okay! I will!" Haruhi assured.

"I don't see why not," Kyouya said back. Haruhi rolled his eyes at his complete lack of enthusiasm.

"Bye!" Hunny called out, letting himself out. Mori waved before he shut the door.

"I wish I had spent more time with them," Haruhi said sadly, "I guess I didn't really know where to find them. They said they were spending time with family too, so…Well, where were we?" She looked at Kyouya.

"Actually I should probably be on my way, as well," Kyouya informed, heading to the door right away, "I have things I need to do today that can't wait." Haruhi felt her spirits drop just a little lower.

"Okay…well, don't wait so long to visit again, all right? You're not far away, it shouldn't feel like you are," Haruhi pointed out sternly, so her words would sink in a little more.

"Right," Kyouya agreed, a little smile crossing his face as he opened the door, "I'll see you soon then. And you can just keep the notebook. I don't have any use for it."

"Are you sure?" Haruhi asked, trying to think of what use it would be to _her_.

"Of course. You can look at it when you have nothing better to do and try to make sense of what I've written," Kyouya suggested. Haruhi laughed.

"Wow, _and _you have a sense of humor. First you stutter, now you make a joke- you're really opening up to me, huh?" Haruhi joked.

"I suppose," Kyouya shrugged. Haruhi didn't know how right she was. He closed the door with one last wave and walked down the steps to the street, where a limo was already waiting to take him home.


	18. Chapter 18

**Note from the Author: **Never mind people! The end is here! I thought it would take a long time, but no! I was wrong...Here it is, everyone: The end.

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

"Why have you grown this odd interest in my house lately?" Kyouya asked when he walked through his front door. Tamaki was sitting on the floor by the door, waiting for Kyouya to come back…again.

"My house smells funny right now…" Tamaki told his best friend thoughtfully, "Well, where have you been? I was so bored. Your house is no fun." He crossed his arms and pouted until Kyouya said something.

"If it's so boring, just go home," he told the child at his feet. Tamaki stood up and put on the most threatening look he could- which didn't look evil whatsoever.

"Don't change the subject! Where were you so early in the morning?!" Tamaki yelled, demanding rather than asking.

"It's ten thirty. It's really not that early," Kyouya mentioned, "And where I go shouldn't be any of your concern."

"When I'm bored it is."

Kyouya ignored him and proceeded to walk towards his office.

"Were you visiting Haruhi?" Tamaki whined, "I think she hates me now-"

"We go over this every time I leave the house," Kyouya interrupted, "Haruhi _doesn't _hate you, no matter how long it takes her to speak to you again. But you are correct. This time I did go to see Haruhi." Tamaki slouched over, wearing his lifeless puppy eyes. He would have gone to sit in a dark corner, but instead he chose to ask questions.

"Did she…say anything…" Tamaki began to ask.

"About you?" Kyouya finished, "No. She didn't. Let Haruhi move at her own pace. It's not very fair of you to want to monopolize her time. She has other things to do."

"But why wouldn't she want to talk to me?" Tamaki whined again, "Is it because she and Hikaru are now-" He gasped heavily and fell to the floor. "I think I'm having another heart attack."

"You never really had one to begin with," Kyouya informed the dead figure on the floor, "Now get off the floor. You look pathetic."

"That's the point…" Tamaki pouted with insane amounts of unnecessary melancholy.

"It shouldn't be," Kyouya went on, beginning to feel a little angry, "You can't always do this, I hope you know."

"Do what?"

"Resort to pathetic behavior whenever you fear you're losing in something."

"I…don't…"

"You do, actually. As though it's going to make defeat that much easier to handle. All you're really doing is making those of us who are really losing feel even more idiotic for trying at all."

Tamaki sat up, looking at Kyouya with a mixture of shock and confusion.

"What do you mean…?" he asked, knowing if he didn't get an answer, he'd be thinking about what Kyouya said- trying to decipher its meaning -until the day he died.

"Are you really so dense, Tamaki?" Kyouya asked in frustration, "Bad question. My point is, it's obvious who Haruhi has feelings for. It's obvious she's not talking to you because she doesn't know how to tell you." He actually had trouble continuing. "And it's obvious you're not the only one who cares about Haruhi. When you're the one she returns her affection to, and you don't even see it, the ones who wish they could be as big an idiot as yourself so maybe they could have a small chance with Haruhi feel absolutely ridiculous for ever wishing that."

"Kyouya? Do you…?" Tamaki was starting to catch on, "Do you like Haruhi…?" Suddenly, Tamaki's spirit sunk to the lowest possible level. And if that wasn't enough, it shattered into a thousand smaller pieces. The smaller pieces shattered into even smaller pieces until there was no spirit left to shatter. He wasn't going to stand as "competition" against his best friend. He couldn't…

"Yes, but I don't want that to stop you," Kyouya quickly added the second part, so Tamaki wouldn't shut it out, "You can't keep up this routine of surrendering in the most ridiculous of circumstances. You're the one she wants. If I'm going to lose, I'd rather it be to fair competition."

"But…I can't…You…" Tamaki stumbled over finding the right words to protest with.

"Don't try to fight back. We both know I'll win this argument no matter what you say," Kyouya reminded, referring to past debates between the two.

"No! You're my best friend! I won't stand for this! Now who's 'giving up!'" Tamaki shouted, jumping to his feet, so his pathetic image would disappear. Kyouya had to secretly admit he had a decent point, but one would have to be as stupid, slow, and dense as Tamaki not to know how the story was supposed to end.

"I told you, you can't win," Kyouya kept going, "I don't care what you have to say, you're going to tell Haruhi how you feel. Then no one will have to worry about this idiotic 'competition' we've created." Tamaki wasn't able to fight back with a proper argument.

"No…" was all he had to say in his defense.

"Just shut up and admit it," Kyouya ordered, turning his computer on- the official declaration that he was done speaking, "And while you're at it, go home."

* * *

The sun had almost completely vanished. Outside Haruhi's window, the world was painted various shades of orange and yellow- a sure sign it would be pitch black in a few minutes.

She had reached for the phone countless times that afternoon, telling herself to just call him. And countless times she either withdrew her hand remembering she didn't know his number or because she lacked the courage.

"It shouldn't be this hard. Why is it this hard? I don't get it! It doesn't make sense!" Haruhi mumbled in a panic underneath her breath, "Gah! My head hurts!" She fell back onto the couch, gripping her head tightly with one hand- hoping the applied force could heal the pain.

She looked back out the window.

"It's so pretty…" Haruhi sighed, longing for the outdoors. They were only a few steps away and holding her forehead tightly while laying miserably in an uncomfortable position on her couch wasn't helping her headache at all. Maybe she needed some fresh air.

"Yeah…that'll help…" Haruhi told herself, pushing herself up and off the couch. Antoinette looked cozy enough in yet another corner of the house giving Haruhi some relief that she wouldn't have to take the dog along. _I'll just walk her tomorrow,_ Haruhi assured herself, walking up the stairs to her room for suitable shoes to walk around in. The park was only a block away, but her feet hurt almost as badly as her head. Pretty much every part of her body hurt horribly.

"Maybe it's one massive headache and it couldn't all fit in my head…" Haruhi suggested, knowing her words were ridiculous but not even caring at that moment.

After a "proper" goodbye to the dog curled in the corner, Haruhi slipped outside into the cool air. She took a deep breath in feeling her head clearing immediately. The air was borderline cold, but still warm enough to walk around as though it were the middle of the day. It was Haruhi's favorite time of day.

She walked happily down the street to the flood of sakura only yards away. Even with the golden glow in the sky, each petal was shining, as though getting ready to glow during the night. Haruhi couldn't help but smile. It was so beautiful.

As she entered the park, her feet froze.

There.

On her bench.

Part of Haruhi told her to turn around and make a run for it, but the part of her with the still-working brain told her to calm down and keep walking. After all, she had been waiting years for this opportunity. Why not take it?

"Hi," she greeted quietly, when she was close enough to the bench she had unofficially named hers. Tamaki jumped as he snapped back to reality. He almost fell off the bench when he saw Haruhi.

"H-hi…" he said back, situating himself back on the seat so he wasn't about to tumble to the ground.

"Can I…sit down?" Haruhi asked, waving a hand in front of her bench.

"O-of course," Tamaki said, scooting down the bench to make room for her. Haruhi took the seat closest to the edge.

"So…" she sighed after a minute's pause.

"So…" Tamaki repeated.

"I…I turned Hikaru down…" Haruhi said, feeling her cheeks burn lightly. Tamaki's heart skipped a beat.

"O-oh…" was all he could see, leading Haruhi to believe he was upset about her rejection of Hikaru. She went on, to try to make her side sound less rude.

"I just…don't think of him like that…There's….there's someone else…" Haruhi's voice got quieter with each word. _You can do it,_ her thoughts encouraged.

"I see…" Tamaki started fiddling with his fingers before gripping the bench on either side of his knees. _Someone else?_ he thought miserably, _Must be Kyouya…_The talk hadn't helped his situation much, and since Haruhi showed up, being at the park hadn't helped either.

"I don't think of him like that because…I…" Haruhi took a deep breath in, "I…wanted…I wanted _you_ to be Hikaru…when he kissed me…" Tamaki gripped the bench tighter and whipped his gaze over to Haruhi, who was staring intently at the dirty sidewalk.

"You…what?" Tamaki asked, knowing she probably wasn't going to repeat it, but he really needed to hear it again. Not only because it sounded so wonderful, but because he wasn't sure if he had heard her right.

"Do you remember that thunder storm all those years ago…?" Haruhi asked. She waited for Tamaki to finally get out some form of agreement before going on. "That's…that's when I realized. I don't think I really admitted it, but I knew…And that night I was sick and you took care of me…_that's _when I knew I couldn't deny it anymore…I'm…I'm in love with you…I have been since the day we met…" Tamaki stared at her, unable to find any words. Fifty percent due to her words. The other half because of that stupid sunlight…It was shining on her again just like it had the week before.

"Could you…say something? So I don't feel so stupid…?" Haruhi begged. Tamaki smiled, feeling himself relax. He reached out his hand and gently ran his fingers through Haruhi's long, deep brown hair.

"You're so beautiful," was all his voice could manage to say in barely more than a whisper. Haruhi felt herself tense, but in a way that was almost relaxing. The kind of tense where your you can't tell if you're breathing or not, but the sensation is so sweet, you want your heart to stay still forever. Suddenly, she found herself sliding closer to him. The movement was almost mechanical as her feet pushed her body.

"I love you," Tamaki told her, only inches away from her now. He leaned in and put his trembling lips gently against Haruhi's. She caught her breath as she closed her eyes and let herself remember the moment forever.

* * *

Thank you to all you read through to the end! Thank you so much for all your support, especially during my hard times, hehe. There's an epilogue on the way, because I just couldn't resist. Once again, thank you! I hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!


	19. Epilogue

**Note from the Author:** Huh...the entire end in one night...Can you tell I can't sleep? Well, you can choose to read the epilogue or not, it really doesn't matter. I just had fun writing it, so I thought I'd throw it in. It used a suggestion in this, too, so hey- why not throw it in? If you read it, thanks! If you don't, well, you must have read everything else and that's good enough for me, haha. It makes me kind of sad that there's nothing left to write for this story...I guess I'll get used to it in a day or two. It'll just be weird not thinking of ideas for it...On to the next one I suppose!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to. (You have to be _so_ tired of hearing that.)

* * *

One Year Later:

The ceiling-less room seemed to be overflowing with guests. It seemed no matter where you stepped, you ran into another person. You would have thought such a large room could hold the number of guests invited to the party, but apparently not. Otherwise they all decided to shove themselves into a neat little area by the food. The more Haruhi thought about _that_ theory, the more it seemed plausible. The food was absolutely delicious, why not stand as close to it as you could get?

"Haruhi! There you are!" Hikaru called from somewhere in the midst of the crowd. Haruhi looked over in the direction she had heard the voice come from and noticed Hikaru politely shoving his way through the sea of guests.

"You can't just come to one of these and not meet people," Hikaru scolded with a mocking laugh, "You can definitely tell it's your first time."

"Well when do you expect me to go to these sorts of things? I don't really own a business. Neither does anyone in my family. And of course, my so-called friends have been so generous at inviting me places," Haruhi snapped, glancing over at the food table not far away. Hikaru just _had _to spot her before she could get there.

"Well, there's really not that much reason to invite someone to a business party when they aren't really going to be having much fun," Hikaru pointed out, "Not that these are fun even when you know what you're talking about…" Haruhi laughed quietly, so she wouldn't interrupt one of the many conversations surrounding her.

"Come on, I can show you around," Hikaru offered, "Kaoru's not very far away, we can start there if you want. It's always easiest to talk around people you know, at least, at your very first party."

"Okay…sure," Haruhi agreed, "I guess you would know better than I would." The two began to make their way through the maze of finely dressed people.

"Why are there so many people here? They can't _all_ be related to the same company can they?" Haruhi asked, squeezing through two women standing back to back, yet very close to each other.

"They all must have watched the news," Hikaru suggested, before smiling slyly, "And come to see the lovely newbie."

"I'm not really a newbie…" Haruhi protested weakly, "I won't be doing _anything_ with the company. I'm a lawyer…I'm going to be a lawyer even after-"

"Hikaru! You found Haruhi!" Kaoru cheered when he saw the two coming, interrupting Haruhi, "Haruhi this is Nobu Imawato."

"You don't have to introduce me, Mr. Hitachiin, I know who this is," Mr. Imawato exclaimed with excitement. He grabbed Haruhi's gloved hand tightly, "Pleasure to see you again Miss Fujioka."

"Oh, the pleasure's all mine!" Haruhi returned. _No, it's the pervert!_ her thoughts complained.

"Miss Fujioka here saved me," Mr. Imawato explained to the twins, "In court that is. Some foolish customer thought he could sue me simply because he was unsatisfied and Miss Fujioka here presented the greatest case I could have ever imagined!"

"Please, Mr. Imawato, it was nothing," Haruhi insisted, "But I'm afraid you can't keep my hand. I'm going to need it later."

"Oh, y-yes, of course," Mr. Imawato stuttered, letting go of Haruhi's hand.

"And I'm afraid you won't be calling our lovely Haruhi here 'Miss Fujioka' much longer, Mr. Imawato," Kaoru said, putting an arm around Haruhi.

"Yes, little Haruhi's getting married soon," Hikaru added, sliding his arm over Haruhi's empty shoulder.

"Is this really necessary to talk about…?" Haruhi mumbled. She didn't mind telling people, but the twins were bound to make the story much more lavish than it had been.

"Oh, how splendid!" Mr. Imawato cried, though with not as much excitement as he has spoken with before he heard of Haruhi's engagement, "Are you the one from the news then?!" He suddenly put two and two together.

"Uh…yes, that's me…" Haruhi tried to smile politely. She didn't like the news story either, however small it had been. She started fiddling with the ring now glued to her finger, spinning it from side to side by the small diamond jutting from the thin gold band. It had been the perfect ring to match the most perfect moment.

As Mr. Imawato rambled on first about the story and all the "suspicions" he had had, Haruhi began to zone out and subconsciously search the crowd. Her eyes scanned from guest to guest, until she found him.

His face lit up when he saw her standing across the room, looking at him with equally bright eyes. Haruhi gave him a helpless look along with a subtle sigh that only he noticed. He stifled a laugh which just turned into an uncontrollably large smile when Haruhi flashed her ring at him with a little shrug, to hint at what they were talking about around her. She playfully mouthed the words "I still love you" and returned her attention to Mr. Imawato and the twins, who hadn't even noticed Haruhi had been in another world for a moment, leaving Tamaki to follow suit and continue to host the party he had brought his fiance to.


End file.
